


Night Vale Online

by Cats_Dont_Float



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Human Cecil Palmer, M/M, YouTube, Youtuber AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-05-18 16:24:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 38
Words: 25,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14856143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cats_Dont_Float/pseuds/Cats_Dont_Float
Summary: Cecil has been making videos for years, when one day a certain scientist youtuber catches his eye.AU where they don't live in Night Vale and they're all youtubers.





	1. Chapter 1

"Bye guys! Thanks for watching!" Cecil smiled, waving at the camera and then switching it off. With a tired sigh, he flopped backwards on his bed, his head hitting the pillows heavily. Flipping onto his stomach, he grabbed his phone and tapped onto YouTube. Scrolling through the recommended videos, he saw a thumbnail that caught his eye. The man in the photo had long brown hair pulled back into a small ponytail, and was holding up a test tube filled with a strange, green liquid.

"Hey everyone, it's Carlos! Today I'm back with the results of last week's experiment!" The man smiled, waving happily.  
"And I'm here today as well," called a voice, and a woman dropped down onto the seat next to Carlos.  
"Yes, this is my roommate, Nilanjana, you should go check out her channel, I'll put the link below," Carlos added, "right now, we should check out these results though,"

A while later, Cecil found he had watched several videos. He clicked onto the comment section below one, and started to type.  
**_Hi Carlos, loving your videos!! :)_ ** Cecil typed quickly. Almost instantly, there was a reply.

**_Nice to hear!! Thank you for watching. :)_** Carlos had replied. Not knowing what else to put, Cecil dropped his phone down and wandered into the small kitchen of his apartment.

 

"Hey!" Called Cecil's roommate, Earl.

"Hi, Earl," Cecil smiled, hopping up onto the kitchen side.

"Why are you smiling so much?" Earl questioned him.

"Oh, no reason," Cecil beamed, "just been talking to the cutest guy!"

"Tell me everything!" Earl squealed, sitting on the side opposite Cecil.

 

Later, Cecil and Earl sat in their lounge, editing the video Cecil had just filmed. Cecil heard his phone beep, and scooped it up. It was an Instagram notification. Cecil clicked on it, and smiled widely as he saw it was a message from an account called Carlos_the_Scientist.

**Carlos_the_Scientist: Hey, it's Carlos, from YouTube. I watched some of your videos and found your instagram. That sounds creepy, I promise it's not! Anyway, I wanted to say that I really liked your videos!**

Cecil smiled even wider.

**CecilGPalmer: Hi Carlos, don't worry, doesn't sound creepy. :)**

"Is that all you're going to reply with?" Earl asked, leaning over Cecil's shoulder. Cecil sighed, shaking his head in amusement, and picked his phone back up.

**CecilGPalmer: Your room mate seems nice, how long have you known her for?"**

"Lame" Earl sung under his breath. Cecil pushed him off the sofa.

**Carlos_the_Scientist: Oh, I've known Nils for years, we've studied science together since we were teens.**

**CecilGPalmer: Wow, that's impressive! I've known my roommate Earl for ages as well.**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: Yes, I saw Earl in one of your videos. He seems friendly. Does her have a channel?**

**CecilGPalmer: Yep, he does baking and stuff.**

"Wow, way to make me seem interesting," Earl drawled, "now, tell your friend that you've got to go to bed, we've got to get up early tomorrow,"

"Why?" Cecil moaned.

"Cecil, have you seriously forgotten that we're going to a convention tomorrow?" Earl cried.

"Oh no! I haven't packed!" Cecil exclaimed.

"Do it in the morning, I know what you're like when you don't get enough sleep," Earl ordered, gesturing towards Cecil's room. Cecil sighed, and stomped off to his bed.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Cecil stumbled around the flat tiredly, grabbing clothes and shoving them into his suitcase with one hand, and texting with the other.

**EarlBakes: Is that you clattering around?**

**CecilGPalmer: No, it's a burglar! Who do you think it is, idiot?**

**EarlBakes: Haha, funny**

**CecilGPalmer: Are you gonna get out of bed anytime soon? You've been awake for hours**

**EarlBakes: I'm not the one who still needs to pack!**

**CecilGPalmer: You promised to make breakfast!**

**EarlBakes: I've already made food for the drive!!**

**CecilGPalmer: Good, now I've got to get on with the packing!**

 

**Carlos_the_Scientist: Hey, I saw your tweet, I'm going to the same convention as you!**

**CecilGPalmer: No way! Really???**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: Yep, maybe I'll be able to meet you!!**

**CecilGPalmer: That would be awesome! You'll have to message me when you arrive!**

**Carlos-the-Scientist: Will do! Got to go now, NIls hasn't packed yet and she needs help.**

**CecilGPalmer: Ha, I'm supposed to be pacing too!**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: I'll let you get on with it then!!! :)**

 

"Cecil, you are supposed to be packing!" Cried a voice behind him. He spun around to see that Earl had crept up on him. "Oh, you're texting that Carlos again, aren't you? I can tell from the  weird smile you're doing,"

"He's going to the convention too!" Cecil beamed.

"Great, then you can talk to him there. Now, pack!" Earl demanded.

 

Soon, they were driving down the road, the radio playing. Earl drummed his fingers happily on the steering wheel in time to the beat. Cecil peered into a tiny compact mirror, squinting slightly.

"Earl, my makeup isn't smudged is it?" Cecil asked, wiping a stray piece of eyeshadow from his cheek.

"Nah," Earl replied after quickly glancing at him. Cecil nodded to himself, humming along to the song.

 

**Carlos_the_Scientist: On your way yet???**  
**CecilGPalmer: Yep! You?**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: No, Nilanjana is stiiillll packing!**

**CecilGPalmer: How much stuff does she need?**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: Too much for only three days. Oh! I think she's done!**

**CecilGPalmer: How long are you going to be driving for?**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: Only about an hour.**

**CecilGPalmer: Oh, we've got about an hour and a half drive from our apartment.**

 

"Hey, Earl, you've reached 300,000 subscribers," Cecil realised suddenly.

"Really?" Earl cried, sitting up straighter in his seat.

"Yep, we need to celebrate once we get there!" Cecil declared, clapping his hands excitedly.

"Awesome!" Earl smiled.

"Hey, I've been added to a group chat," Cecil mumbled, checking his phone.

 

**Carlos_the_Scientist: THought we should introduce our roommates. :)**

**NilanjanaS: Hi, I'm Nilanjana**

**CecilGPalmer: Hi!!!!!**

_**CecilGPalmer added EarlBakes** _

**CecilGPalmer: He probably won't answer, he's driving.**

**NilanjanaS: So am I ;)**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: Yes, I keep telling her to stop.**

**NilanjanaS: Well, shouldn't have added me to the group chat then :)**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: Well, I've given up trying to stop you....**

**CecilGPalmer: That sounds slightly dangerous to be honest.....**

**NilanjanaS: I do it all the time**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: She really shouldn't**

**CecilGpalmer: Yep, she's a bad example for us all**

**NilanjanaS: Yep, thanks for that weird stranger**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: Nils.... be nice**

**NilanjanaS: Joking!! ;)**

**CecilGPalmer: Oh, Earl's pulled over to buy coffee**

**EarlBakes: What is this???**

**CecilGPalmer: Groupchat**

**EarlBakes: Great, really descriptive. Now, stop texting and help me buy some coffee**

**CecilGPalmer: See ya!!!!!**

 

Cecil dashed out of the car after Earl.

"Well, your new friends seem nice," Earl stated as they picked up some snacks from the store.

"Yeah, they are," Cecil smiled, throwing a few bags of candy towards Earl.

"Can't believe you've only been talking to them for a day," Earl sighed, pulling some money from his pocket and paying quickly. "You make friends way too quickly,"

"No I don't, you're just ridiculously antisocial," Cecil protested.

"Come on," Earl sighed, and they wandered back to the car. 

"I'll drive for a bit," Cecil said, climbing into the driver's seat. Earl smiled appreciatively.

 

**NilanjanaS: Wow, you two take a ridiculous amount of time to get coffee**

**EarlBakes: Cecil's driving, he won't reply.**

**NilanjanaS: So?? You can talk to us instead.**

**EarlBakes: I'm not texting you whilst you're driving**

**NilanjanaS: Oh, it's okay, Carlos is driving now.**

**EarlBakes: Really? Or are you lying?**

**NilanjanaS: He really is, why do you think he isn't texting??**

**EarlBakes: Oh, yeah.... umm.. dunno what to say really, I've never talked to you before**

**NilanjanaS: Don't worry, I'm surprisingly easy to talk to, I'm very friendly and all that**

**EarlBakes: Wow, you're...**

**NilanjanaS: Vain?**

**EarlBakes: Well...**

**NilanjanaS: Don't worry, I'm just mucking around. I'm not that vain, really!**

 

"See, they're easy to talk to," Cecil exclaimed from where he was sat, driving.

"Yeah, I guess," Earl replied.

 

**Carlos_the_Scientist: Nils is driving again, I can't stand having her watch me drive. She's bossier than the satnav**

**EarlBakes: Oh. hi Carlos**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: So, Earl, what's the name of your youtube channel??**

**EarlBakes: Same as my instagram**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: Oh, right..**

**EarlBakes: Cecil showed me your videos, they're good**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: Thanks, haven't seen any of yours yet, but you were awesome in that collab you did with Cecil**

**EarlBakes: Thanks :)**

 

"You're crush is texting me!" Earl sung softly, laughing as Cecil spun around, staring at him in alarm, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna steal him from you or whatever," Cecil rolled his eyes. They stopped again so Ealr could drive for the last part of the journey. Just then, Cecil's phone pinged. "Who's that?" Earl asked.

"Family groupchat," Cecil sighed, pulling out his phone.

 

**SCarlsBerg: Heyyy Cecil, how's the convention**

**CecilGPalmer: We're not even there yet, Steve**

**SCarlsBerg: oh, right**

**Janicex: Honestly, I told him that thousands of times, Uncle Cecil, and he never listens!!**

**SCarlsBerg: Janice, I always listen to you!!**

**Janicex: yeah yeah i know**

**AbbyyP: Janice you are supposed to be helping me!!!**

**Janicex: helping you do what??**

**AbbyyP: Get ready for dinner tonight, remember?**

**Janicex: Oh yeah be down in a minute**

**SCarlsBerg: Who's coming over for dinner again?**

**AbbyyP: Honestly Steve, how many times?? It's Janice's friend, Tamika.**

**SCarlsBerg: Right, right.**

**CecilGPalmer: Wow, sounds like you guys have a busy night planned**

**AbbyyP: Yep, enjoy your convention!!**

**CecilGPalmer: Will do!!**

 

"Cecil!" Earl called, distracting him from the groupchat.

"What?" he sighed.

"We're here!" Earl exclaimed.

"Yay!" Cecil cried, pushing his head up against the window happily.


	3. Chapter 3

**CecilGPalmer: We're here!!!**  
**Carlos_the_Scientist: Yep, we've just arrived too!! Where are you??**  
**EarlBakes: I think I can see you, are you over by the main doors??**  
**NilanjanaS: I'm waving crazily at no one in particular, can you see me?**  
**EarlBakes: OH, yeah, there you are, we're waving back**  
**NilanjanaS: I see you I see you!!**  
**CecilGPalmer: That sounds creepy!!!!**  
**NilanjanaS: Haha, be quiet you!!**  
**Carlos_the_Scientist: Come on, come over here!!**  
**EarlBakes: Just grabbing our bags!!!!!**

The two ran quickly towards their new friends, dragging their bags behind them.  
"Hi!" cried Nilanjana, dashing forward, her long, dark hair streaming out behind her.  
"Hi," Cecil smiled, as Nilanjana crashed into him and hugged him.  
"I can't believe we only started talking yesterday, it feels like forever!" Nilanjana screeched in Earls' ear. Earl nodded, his eyes widening in shock as she crushed him in a tight hug.  
"Hiya," said a soft voice, and Cecil looked up to see Carlos approaching. Cecil smiled nervously, and blushed slightly.  
"Say hello," Earl hissed into Cecil's ear, pushing him forward.  
"Um, hi," Cecil said, waving awkwardly. Carlos smiled, waving at the two of them.  
"Nils, we need to check into our room," Carlos said, prodding Nilanjana's shoulder gently.  
"Yeah, we should get to our room too," Earl said, "we should meet up later or something though,"  
"Yeah, we'll message you!" Cecil smiled, and the group broke apart as they searched out their rooms within the hotel.

"I'ts weird," Earl murmured as they crashed into their hotel room a few minutes later.

"What is?" Cecil asked, throwing a suitcase in the general direction of a bed and watching it smash into a wall instead.

"You just started talking to them yesterday, and suddenly we're all best friends," Earl replied, shaking his head at Cecil as he watched the suitcase fall onto the floor.

"Well, that's what it's like being a youtuber, isn't it? You make friends quickly," Cecil sighed, dropping backwards onto one of the beds.

"Alright, well, at least you get to talk to your crush!" Earl laughed.

"Oh, come on, don't lie, you like Nilanjana, don't you?" Cecil teased him.

"Urgh, no, Cecil!" Earl protested, "just, shut up, okay?"

"Woah, alright," Cecil huffed. At that moment, their phone's went off again.

"Oh god, you can answer that," Earl sighed.

 

**NilanjanaS: Wow!!!! THis hotel is awwwwsome**

**CecilGPalmer: umm.. yeah it's cool**

**NilanjanaS: You don't sound very excited...**

**CecilGpalmer: Just dealing with a grumpy Earl**

**EarlBakes: OI!!**

**CecilGPalmer: ooopps**

**NilanjanaS: Oh, what's wrong Earl?**

**EarlBakes: Nothing, just tired**

**NilanjanaS: it's not even midday....**

**EarlBakes: Driving tires me out**

**CecilGPalmer: Don't listen to him Nilanjana, he's lying**

**NilanjanaS: well you two clearly have some issues to sort out.....**

**EarlBakes: I'm fine**

**CecilGPalmer: then why are you so huffy??**

**EarlBakes: I'm tired!!**

**NilanjanaS: awwkward....**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: Hey, um.. I get the feeling Earl might not be too comfortable with all of this??**

**EarlBakes: I'm just not good with new people....**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: Yeah, this has happened pretty quickly.... perhaps we need to like get to know each other more??**

**EarlBakes: That's not a bad idea....**

**NilanjanaS: I have an idea to put forward, we all go out for lunch...today!!**

**CecilGPalmer: Sounds good.. Earl??**

**EarlBakes: Yeah, I'm up for that**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: okay, we could meet downstairs in like half an hour??**  


**CecilGpalmer: that's cool, see you then!!!**

**NilanjanaS: see ya!!!**

 

"You sure you're okay with this?" Cecil asked, looking over to Earl, who was curled up in a ball facing away from Cecil. "Yeah, I'm sorry I've been a bit off. I really want this friendship thing to work, I'm just..." Earl sighed, trailing off. "I get it, you feel a bit out of place, right?" Cecil asked, moving to sit cautiously on the edge of Earl's bed. "Yeah, I guess," Earl answered, sitting up slowly. "Well, if you still feel uncomfortable after this meal, we'll stop all of this, okay?" Cecil smiled. "Alright, but, don't let me stop you from getting along with your crush," Earl smiled back, nudging Cecil gently. Cecil smiled. "Cool, I'm going to fix my makeup, back in a bit!" Cecil called, already heading towards the bathroom, grabbing his makeup bag on the way.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, Cecil, Earl!" screamed a voice as Cecil and Earl wandered through the hotel. The two spun around to see two girls running towards them.  
"Hi," he said slowly, not sure who they were.  
"Wow, I love your channels!" one of the girls screamed.  
"Yeah we're like, your biggest fans!" the other cried.  
"Oh, hi," Earl smiled happily.  
"Can you sign these?" one of the girls asked, and they both held out pieces of paper.  
"Umm, we don't have a pen," Cecil said apologetically.  
"Here!" said the first girl, holding out a pen. Cecil took it with a smile, and the two signed the papers quickly. Before they knew it they were taking selfies with them.

"Thanks!" cried the girls.  
"It was so lovely to meet you, I wish we could talk for longer, but we've got friends to meet," Cecil apologised, "come see if you can find us later or something, yeah?"  
"Definitely!" one of them smiled, and they were gone as quickly as they had appeared.

"Wow, wasn't expecting that," Earl smiled.  
"Yeah, the convention doesn't even officially start until tonight," Cecil laughed.  
"It's cool though," Earl said.  
"Yeah, oh we're gone be so late!" Cecil cried suddenly, and the two began to race towards the hotel lobby.

"Hey, sorry we're so late!" Cecil apologised as they approached the others. "met some fans,"  
"No problem, we bumped into a few fans of ours earlier as well," Carlos smiled.  
"It's awesome isn't it!" Nilanjana cried.  
"Yeah," Earl said quietly, already growing quieter.  
"Hey, it's okay," Cecil murmured to Earl. Earl nodded slightly, and then stepped towards the others confidently.  
"Hi," Earl smiled, "come on, let's get some lunch," the others nodded in agreement, and they wandered out into the town centre.

 

**AbbyyP: Hey Cecil, you there yet???**  
**JaniceX: He's probably busy...**  
**AbbyyP: Your uncle is always on his phone, he'll answer soon enough.**  
**CecilGPalmer: is someone talking about me???**  
**AbbyyP: Told youuuu**  
**JaniceX: Urgh. don't try and text like a kid mom**  
**AbbyyP: alright...**  
**CecilGPalmer: Yeah we're here, just heading out for lunch with some new friends**  
**JaniceX: You have friends??**  
**CecilGPalmer: Haha, funny. Yeah, Carlos and Nilanjana, we met them over yotube yesterday**  
**AbbyyP: wait, Carlos as in the scientist youtuber guy??**  
**CecilGPalmer: Yeah....**  
**JaniceX: mommm, you watch youtube??**  
**AbbyyP: sometimes**  
**JaniceX: urgh, lame**  
**AbbyyP: Hey, that Carlos is pretty good looking**  
**SCarlsBerg: Excuse me???**  
**AbbyyP: Just stating a point**  
**SCarlsBerg: well, alright then**  
**CecilGPalmer: uhh, I guess you could say Carlos was good looking??**  
**JaniceX: Someone's got a crush!!**  
**SCarlsBerg: Abby! You said you were just stating a point!!**  
**JaniceX: I meant uncle cecil**  
**SCarlsBerg: ohh, right**  
**CecilGPalmer: excuse me young lady, you are not old enough to know about crushes**  
**JaniceX: uncle cecil, so you think i'm like three or something???**  
**CecilGPalmer: You know what, we've reached the restaurant and I look really rude being on my phone all the time**  
**JancieX: Bye**  
**AbbyyP: see ya!! Go stare at your crush instead of your phone**  
**CecilGPalmer: shut up**

 

"Sorry, family group chat," Cecil explained as they stepped into a pizza restaurant.  
"Uh, families," Nilanjana huffed.  
"Oh, I love my family," Cecil smiled, "even if they are annoying sometimes," he muttered, glaring at his phone. Earl laughed. Then they were sitting down at a table.

"I love pizza," Carlos smiled, picking up a menu.  
"Same," Cecil said. Earl smiled cheekily at Cecil. "Shut up," Cecil hissed at his friend. Earl only sniggered.  
"Something's going on!" Nilanjana stated.  
"What?" Carlos asked.  
"Yep, those two," Nilanjana said, pointing accusingly at Cecil and Earl, "they keep whispering and giggling!"  
"Okay, which one of you has a crush on Nils?" Carlos laughed.  
"Uh.. excuse me?" Cecil cried, while Earl burst out laughing. Carlos looked at them in confusion.  
"What?" Carlos asked slowly, as if he was scared of the answer.  
"He is so very gay!" Earl laughed, tears rolling down his face and pointing at Cecil.  
"Huh, so same as Carlos then," Nilanjana murmured. Cecil immediately sat up straighter, his eyes lighting up slightly. That only made Earl laugh harder.  
"Nils!" cried Carlos, but he was beginning to laugh too, "so, Earl, you like Nils then?"  
"Oh god no," Earl cried, "oh god sorry Nils,"  
"Don';t worry, no offence," she said with a knowing smile, "you're gay too, right?"  
"Uh.. bi, but thanks for asking I guess," Earl stammered.  
"Knew it!" Nilanjana cried.  
"Okay, let's order before this gets any weirder!" Carlos cried.

**EarlBakes: Ooh, could something be happening between you and Carlos???**  
**CecilGPalmer: Why are you texting me? We're sat next to each other???**  
**EarlBakes: Oh sorry, you want me to talk about this out loud??**  
**CecilGPalmer: no no, oh gosh no!!**  
**EarlBakes: Right**  
**EarlBakes: so, you gonna ask him out or anything??**  
**CecilGPalmer: I have only met him today Earl!!!**  
**EarlBakes: alright, well... something's gonna happen, i'm calling it!!**  
**CecilGPalmer: whatever, now stop texting me, this looks dodgy!!**  
**EarlBakes: fiiinee**

"So.. you said your family were nice, what are they like?" Nilanjana asked Cecil.  
"Umm well my sister Abby is amazing, she pretty much brought me up after my mother abandoned us and took our sister with us," Cecil began. Earl watched in amusement as the other two gasped in shock, "she has daughter called Janice, who's amazing! And Abby's husband Steve, is... well, I don't know, he's cool, we don't exactly get on though,"  
"They sound nice," Carlos said slowly, still trying to recover from the shock.  
"Your mother abandoned you?" Nilanjana asked.  
"Yeah, when my sister was fifteen she disappeared and took my brother with her, haven't heard from her since," Cecil explained.  
"Well, isn't that cheery," Earl smiled, "Cecil, you're doing it again,"  
"Oh right, sorry, I have a tendency to upset people," Cecil explained.  
"Don't worry about it!" Carlos smiled, "we've all got bad things in our lives," Earl nodded in agreement.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to weekesandwentz for the storyline idea for this chapter!!

The meal went well, and Cecil could tell that Earl was beginning to get more comfortable.  
"Hey, we should head back, the convention has officially started now," Nilanjana said.  
"Oh, yeah, there's a couple of people I said I'd try and meet up with today," Carlos added.  
"Yeah, Earl and I want to head to check out a few places as well," Cecil replied. Together, they all left the restaurant.

  
Later, after a few hours of wandering around the convention centre and meeting people, Cecil headed back to his hotel room, leaving Earl behind at a panel for baking youtubers.

**_NilanjanaS named the group chat: the four weirdos - 2 hours ago_ **   
**CecilGPalmer: Hey, anyone online???**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: yep, just me I think. Nils has gone off with some of her internet friends.**   
**CecilGPalmer: Earl's at a panel...**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: Wanna meet up somewhere?? I need a break from the crazy crowds for a while.**   
**CecilGPalmer: yeah, me too. There's a starbucks a few roads away, wanna meet there??**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: There's a starbucks literally next door to the hotel...**   
**CecilGPalmer: yeah but it's bound to be really busy**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: True, okay. Meet at the main doors???**   
**CecilGPalmer: sure, i'll be there in ten minutes.**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: cool**

Cecil raced through the hotel as quickly as possible, and found himself being watched curiously by a few groups of fans. When he reached the main doors, Carlos was already there.  
"Hey, sorry I'm late," Cecil sighed, slightly out of breath.  
"Oh, you're not, don't worry, I was just early," Carlos smiled.  
"Oh good," Cecil replied, "come on then, I want coffee," he said, leading the way out of the hotel.

There were a few people lingering in the starbucks, but not as many as there would have been in the one nearer the hotel.   
"Ahh, peace and quiet," Carlos smiled as they wandered inside.  
"Wow, it's only the first day and you're already sick of the crowds," Cecil laughed.  
"Yeah, well, I'm not exactly the most sociable person," Carlos replied. They stepped up and ordered their coffees. "Go and sit down if you want, I'll get them," Carlos offered. Cecil smiled and nodded, before wandering to a small table near the window. He collapsed into his seat and pulled out his phone.

 

**_ The Palmers (and Carlsberg) - family groupchat _ **

**SCarlsBerg: who chose that name for the group chat??**

**JaniceX: meeee**

**SCarlsBerg: wonderful....**

**CecilGPalmer: nice job janice**

**JaniceX: thanks uncle cecil**

**AbbyyP: :)**

**JaniceX: hey, uncle cecil, how's the convention????**

**CecilGPalmer: going well, Carlos and I have left for a while to get coffee**

**JaniceX: aww, he's getting coffee with his crush, how cute**

**AbbyyP: Janice! That is no way to talk to your uncle!!**

**CecilGPalmer: it's fine, Abby, really**

**JaniceX: So, tell us about him then...**

**CecilGPalmer: Janice, I'm going to tell you to shut up as politely as possible**

**JaniceX: there is no polite way to tell your niece to shut up**

**SCarlsBerg: Janice, leave cecil alone...**

**JaniceX: alright...**

**CecilGPalmer: Carlos is back, talk to you all later!!**

 

"Hi," Cecil smiled as Carlos set the drinks on the table and sat down.

"Here's yours," Carlos said, pushing one drink towards Cecil.

"Thanks," Cecil said, as his phone pinged again.

"Are you going to answer it?" Carlos asked as Cecil dropped his phone onto the table.

"Probably just my niece," Cecil said with a sigh.

 

**JaniceX: Good luck with your crush uncle cecil!! :)**

 

"Yep, just my niece," he laughed, pushing his phone back into his pocket.

"Aww, well, I think it's nice that you get on with your family," Carlos said.

"Well, they're not too bad I guess," Cecil smiled. Carlos laughed softly. A that moment both of their phones beeped.

"I bet you all of my money that that's Nilanjana," Carlos chuckled. "Told you so!" he said a second later as he checked his phone.

 

_**The four weirdos** _

**NilanjanaS: wait, you two went for coffee without me?? Rude!!**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: You were busy Nils and we needed coffee**

**NilanjanaS: whatever**

**EarlBakes: Oh that's where you are Cecil**

**CecilGPalmer: Sorry Earl, should have texted you**

**EarlBakes: it's fine**

**NilanjanaS: hey, Earl, I need some drinks for tonight, fancy heading to a shop with me??**

**EarlBakes: uh, sure, meet you in the hotel lobby??**

**NilanjanaS: no need, I'm already outside your hotel room!**

**EarlBakes: Creepy... What would you have done if I'd said no??**

**NilanjanaS: persuaded you. Anyway, I knew you wouldn't say no.**

**EarlBakes: alright, I'm coming out, stop knocking on the door so loudly.**

**NilanjanaS: actually I'm kicking the door, knocking is for losers.**

**CecilGPalmer: I'm gonna say it now, if the hotel door gets broken, you're paying for it Nils**

**NilanjanaS: Cecil, I am very skilled at not destroying doors, trust me.**

**CecilGPalmer: whatever :)**

 

`

"Sounds fun," Cecil stated as they left the starbucks.

"Yep, as long as Nils doesn't drink too much," Carlos replied.

"Why, what's so bad about that?" Cecil asked.

"You have quite clearly never seen a drunk Nilanjana before," Carlos answered.


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey!" Nilanjana cried as Carlos and Cecil wandered into Nilanjana and Carlos's hotel room.  
"Nilanjana!" Carlos shouted immediately, his eyes glancing at the piles of clothes scattered all around the room, "what have you done to this room?"  
"She wanted to wear her nicer earrings for the livestream," Earl sighed.  
"They were in your makeup bag! Why have you emptied all of your other bags as well?" Carlos cried.  
"I forgot what bag they were in," Nilanjana said sheepishly.  
"For goodness sake," Carlos sighed, "just, tidy it quickly before the livestream, okay?" Nilanjana rolled her eyes, but immediately set about gathering her clothes in a huge pile and dumping them back into her suitcase.

"Snacks," Cecil stated, throwing a plastic bag of food onto the bag.  
"Awesome," Earl smiled from where he was setting up his laptop for the stream. "right, everyone, tweet about the stream!" Earl commanded, and they all instantly pulled out there phones to alert their viewers.  
"And, we're live!" Carlos announced with a smile as he cliked a button.  
"Ah, wait!" Nilanjana cried, throwing a last pile of clothes out of the shot and flopping donw onto the floor next to Earl.

"Hey, everyone, this is Earl!" Earl started, waving. The others wvaed happily as well, "these are my friends, Nilanjana, Carlos and Cecil. Some of you will be here from their channels and won't even have watched my videos before! Anyway, I just reached 300,000 subscribers this morning, which is amazing, thanks you all so much! So this is our way of celebrating!"  
"We have beer!" Nilanjana announced.  
"And we're sitting on the floor," Cecil added.  
"Sounds like the start of a wonderful livestream!" Carlos laughed.

**Live Comments:**

**Sasha1234: awww, well done Earl!**  
**CrazyFangirl: woah, I didn't know you guys were all friends**  
**James16: ah, this is so good!!**

 

"Okay, so you guys are sending in some questions on twitter and instagram for us to answer," Earl said, "if you want a question answered, go send it to us now, meanwhile we'll answer these first few!"

"Yay, question time!" Nilanjana smiled.

"Have you been drinking already?" Carlos asked, leaning round Cecil to look at Nilanjana.

"No," Nilanjana replied, opening a bottle of beer, "now I am,"

"Please, for all of our sakes, don't drink too much," Carlos begged.

"Uhh, you;re such a mom friend, Carlos!" Nilanjana huffed.

"Alright, before Nils drinks all the beer, first question!" Earl called, "okay, the first question is, are any of you guys dating each other?"

"Haha, nope!" Nilanjana laughed. "Ha, look at that comment," she added.

"Okay, thanks to CrazyFangirl for commenting, 'that's a shame, I totally ship Cecil and Carlos', don't worry, Nils and I ship it too," Earl laughed.

"Excuse me?" Cecil cried, playfully hitting Earl's shoulder.

"They're both blushing!" Nilanjana announced loudly.

"Thanks for that, Nils," Carlos sighed, hanging his head in embarrassment. Cecil gently nudged Carlos with a shoulder.

"You alright?" Cecil murmured quietly.

"yeah, I'm good," Carlos replied just as quietly. Cecil smiled at him, and then turned back to Earl.

"Okay, someone else has commented saying that they love Cecil's tattoos," Earl said.

"Thanks!" Cecil smiled, "I had them done years ago, and I've been having them changed and added to ever since, this one was only done a few months ago," Cecil explained, holding his arm close to the camera to show them the outline of a cat floating in between all of the swirling patterns that covered his arms.

"They want to know what the cat tattoo means," Carlos added, reading from the screen.

"I love cats, and a floating cat seemed like a great idea!" Cecil smiled. 

 

Hours later, they came to the end of the live stream.

"Thanks all of you for watching, and for everyone that's subscribed to me or any of us!"" Earl smiled.

"Yeah, thanks," Nilanjana mumbled from where she was laying on her front on the bed behind them.

"We're going to let Nils sleep now," Carlos laughed.

"See ya!" Cecil waved. They all waved (even Nilanjana attempted a wave) and then Earl ended the stream.

"That was fun!" Carlos smiled.

"Yeah, but I really can't believe how much she drunk!" Earl laughed nodding towards Nilanjana.

"yeah, she has a tendency to drink too much without realising it," Carlos sighed.

"Well, we had better go," Cecil sighed, "see you tomorrow,"

"See ya!" Carlos called out as they left the room. Nilanjana mumbled something that sounded like a goodbye.

 


	7. Chapter 7

_**The four weirdos** _   
**CecilGPalmer: morning!**  
**Carlos_the_Scientist: uhh, what time is it??**  
**EarlBakes: half nine**  
**Carlos_the_Scientist: ugh, I have not had enough sleep.**  
**CecilGPalmer: neither..**  
**Carlos_the_Scientist: also, guess who has a hangover??**  
**EarlBakes: Nils, by any chance??**  
**Carlos_the_Scientist: correct!**  
**CecilGPalmer: shout loudly in her ear for me!**  
**Carlos_the_Scientist: sorry, are you trying to get me killed???**  
**EarlBakes: yep, that was his plan all along**  
**Carlos_the_Scientist: ahh, the truth is finally revealed!!!**  
**NilanjanaS: shut up, my phone is making too much noise**  
**EarlBakes: put it on silent**  
**NilanjanaS: uuugggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh**  
**Carlos_the_Scientist: right, I'm gonna get ready, see you guys later hopefully!!**

 

Cecil finished up his makeup,and wandered out of the bathroom.

"Nilanjana's going to be in an awful mood then," Earl laughed.

"Yep, seems like it!" Cecil smiled. "Come on, let's go get breakfast somewhere,"

 

They ate breakfast in a small cafe a few streets away, and then headed straight to the convention centre.

"Is that Carlos?" Earl asked the minute they stepped inside. Looking over Cecil recognised the man leaning against the wall nearby.

"Hey, Carlos!" Cecil called out as they wandered towards him.

"Hiya," he smiled.

"What you up to?" Earl asked curiously.

"Waiting for Nils," Carlos replied, gesturing towards the toilets nearby.

"Ah, right," Earl laughed, "how's she doing?"

"Not great," Carlos sighed, "I told her this would happen!"

"Does she do this a lot?" Cecil asked.

"She doesn't drink a lot. But when she does she goes all out," Carlos explained.

 

_ **The Palmers (and Carlsberg) - family groupchat** _

**JaniceX: hey uncle cecil, your friend got really drunk last night!**

**CecilGPalmer: oh dear I forgot you watched that**

**AbbyyP: Yes, is your friend okay??**

**CecilGPalmer: she's got a pretty bad hangover..**

**JaniceX: oh dear**

**AbbyyP: hmmm, good luck dealing with that :)**

**CecilGPalmer: thanks**

 

"My family watched Nilanjana's wonderful drunk spectacle last night," Cecil stated.

"Oh no!" Earl cried, laughing.

"Oh dear, what must they think of us?" Carlos mumbled.

"Don't worry, they think it's funny. Anyway, we're all adults," Cecil told him.

"Oh, that's good then," Carlos smiled.

 

"Heyy you guys," called a voice, and Nilanjana appeared behind them.

"How you doing?" Earl asked.

"It is way to loud in here," Nilanjana sighed, holding her head in her hands. 

"I tried to convince Carlos to shout in your ear but he said you'd kill him," Cecil said.

"Yeah, he's not wrong, I would have killed him," Nilanjana laughed, "and then you as well, Cecil,"

"Okay, I won't get on your bad side then," Cecil laughed.

"Hey, Nils, we have a meet and greet in half an hour, please try and sort yourself out a bit before that," Carlos said.

"I'll try," she groaned.

 

Cecil and Earl left the others to get on with their meet and greet, and wandered further into the convention. They looked around at some of the people selling things, and bumped into a few fans.

"How long is it going to take to drive home tomorrow night?" Cecil asked as they wandered around.

"About the same time it took to get here, maybe slightly less because there's less traffic at night," Earl replied.

"Okay, cool," Cecil said, "it'll be weird to leave the others after we'll ahve spent a few days with them,"

"yeah, but I'm sure we'll stay friends," Earl reassured him.

"Oh yeah I know," Cecil replied.

"So, are you going to do anything about your feelings towards Carlos?" Earl asked him eventually after a few moments of silence.

"I don't know, it's just so difficult. I f I say something and he doesn't feel the same, I might end up ruining an awesome friendship!" cecil sighed.

"Yeah, it is a tricky situation," Earl said.

"I'll just wait a while and see how things go," Cecil decided.

"Hi, can we have a selfie?" cried a voice behind them. Cecil turned around, smiling to the fan who had come up behind them.

"Sure," he said, thankful for the distraction.

 

**_ The four weirdos _ **

**Carlos_the_Scientist: We're done with the meet and greet**

**CecilGPalmer: How's Nils doing??**  
**NilanjanaS: I'll be honest Cecil, I've been better**

**EarlBakes: We did warn you not to drink too muhc**

**NilanjanaS: did you?? I don't really remember to be honest**

**EarlBakes: it's fine. the whole livestream is on my channel, you can watch it back later**

**NilanjanaS: No thanks, I'm good**

**CecilGPalmer: haha**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: we're heading out to the main entrance, meet you there??**

**CecilGPalmer: sure**

 

"Uhh, I need water," Nilanjana groaned as they met up a few minutes later.

"Starbucks?" Carlos suggested.

"Good plan," Earl agreed. Cecil simply nodded happily.

 

A while later, they were settled in the Starbucks that Carlos and Cecil had visited the day before.

"I thought you wanted water," Earl stated.

"yep, well, coffee's better," Nilanjana explained. 


	8. Chapter 8

"So, this is a busy convention, isn't it?" Carlos sighed.  
"Yep," Earl agreed, "I'm not usually too good with busy places, but at least I can cope with this,"  
"Better get used to being in busy places," Nilanjana told him, "you're gaining subscribers every second,"  
"Yeah, I guess," Earl smiled.

That night came around quickly, and they headed back to Earl and Cecil's room.  
"I said I'd film a makeup video whilst I was here," Cecil said, "you guys wanna be in the back of it?"  
"Yes, yes, yes" Nilanjana cried.  
"Sure, sounds fun," Carlos smiled.  
"I'll set up the camera," Earl said.

"Hey everyone!" Cecil cried, waving at the camera that they had finally got working. "I've got a simple makeup look for you guys today, also these are my friends," he added, gesturing towards the three people squashed onto the bed behind him, "I'll link their channels below!"  
"Hello Cecil's fans!" Nilanjana cried, peering over Cecil's shoulder. Carlos pulled her back, shaking his head at her fondly.

"So, yeah, this is the best video I can film with the lack of makeup I have here at the hotel," Cecil explained.

"He's lying, he has more than enough makeup," Earl stated, leaning forward slightly, "there are three makeup bags in the bathroom, and none of them are mine,"

"Thanks for that," Cecil sighed, "right, on with the video!"

Later, once the video was filmed, Carlos and Nilanjana went out on their own, leaving Earl and Cecil in their room.

_ **The four weirdos** _   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: you guys, please tell Nils that she shouldn't drink tonight**   
**EarlBakes: Nilanjana don't you dare get drunk again, and I cannot deal with a hungover you AGAIN!!**   
**NilanjanaS: wow, bossy.... you're probably right tho....**   
**CecilGPalmer: I mean., have like one drink if you want I guess**   
**NilanjanaS: thanks Cecil!!!**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: Yeh she's already running towards the bar, I'd better keep an eye on her**   
**EarlBakes: see ya!!!**

"Sounds like Carlos is gonna have a busy night," laughed Earl, "you don't mind that I don't want to go out, do you?" he asked quietly.

"It's fine, Earl," Cecil reassured him, "I'm exhausted anyway,"

"Okay," Earl smiled, "I can't believe the con ends tomorrow,"

"Well, it was only a short convention," Cecil pointed out, "but it's been good though!"

"Yeah, that's true," Earl smiled, sitting down next to Cecil on his bed and leaning against his friend with a sigh.

"So, how's things with you?" Cecil asked after a while.

"All good," Earl smiled, "can't wait to get back to our little flat though!"

"Yeah, same," Cecil agreed.

 

**DanaC_X: Heyyy Cecil, how's your and Earl's convention thing going???**

 

"Who's that?" Earl asked, leaning over Cecil's shoulder.

"Dana, you know the girl I work at the coffee shop with?" Cecil replied.

"Oh yeah," Earl nodded.

 

**CecilGPalmer: Hi Dana, it's all going good!!!**

**DanaC_X: Good, you're back to work in a couple of days, right??**   
**CecilGPalmer: Yeah**

**DanaC_X: thank goodness for that! Pamela has been driving me insane!!**

**CecilGPalmer: what's she doing now??**   
**DanaC_X: She keeps calling emergency staff meetings only to tell us the most pointless, random things!!**

**CecilGPalmer: yep, that's about normal for her!!!**

**DanaC_X: Oh by the way there's a new coffee shop employees groupchat thing, I'll add you to it**

**CecilGPalmer: ok cool**

 

 

**_ DanaC_X added CecilGPalmer to The Coffee Chat _ **

**Maureen123: Hey Cecil!**

**CecilGPalmer: hey Maureen, I thought you'd quit...**

**Maureen123: nope, but I will soon, just need to find a new job first**

**CecilGPalmer: oh alright then**

**DanaC_X: Hey, i saw Earl's livestream, you seemed quite distracted by a certain handsome scientist**

**CecilGPalmer: shut up!!**

**Maureen123: yeah I noticed that too!!!**

**PamelaW: Oh no no no!! this is a strictly professional work-related group chat, go talk about your ridiculous crushes somewhere else!!**

**DanaC_X: sorry Pamela**

**CecilGPalmer: sorry...**

**Maureen123: uh Pamela you're so boring...**

**PamelaW: do you want to quit when you're ready or shall I just fire you now???**

**Maureen123: no... sorry I guess**

**PamelaW: good, now go to bed all of you, it's ridiculously late. and most of you have work tomorrow**

 

Cecil looked up to see that Earl had already made his way to his own bed and was curled up under the covers.

"Earl, you asleep?" he hissed.

"Almost," Earl mumbled.

"Alright, night" Cecil called, climbing into his own bed slowly. He reached out to turn of the light, and eventually drifted asleep.

 


	9. Chapter 9

Cecil woke up the next morning to a ridiculous amount of notifications.

 _ **The Coffee Chat** _  
**PamelaW: Maureen, where are you??? You should have been here half an hour ago for the early shift!!!**  
**Maureen123: sorry, I was out late last night, overslept and all that.**  
**PamelaW: okay that doesn't answer my question!! Where are you?????**  
**Maureen123: I'm a few minutes away, calm down!!!**  
**PamelaW: I am so glad you're leaving soon....**  
**Maureen123: thanks! Nice to feel appreciated!**  
**DanaC_X: Hey Pamela, still need me to work for an extra hour this afternoon??**  
**PamelaW: yes**  
**DanaC_X: okay cool**  
**Chad46: Pamela, I'm gonna be needing to take today's shift off, I feel awful, got the worst cold ever....**  
**PamelaW: you can't!! We won't have enough staff because Cecil sin't here!!**  
**Chad46: well unless you want me to sneeze in all the drinks....**  
**PamelaW: no, stay at home and rest, I'll find someone to cover the shift**  
**Kareem_: I'll do Chad's shift, I need the extra money anyway**  
**PamelaW: good**  
**CecilGPalmer: good morning you lovely lovely people**  
**DanaC_X: urgh, you're disgustingly cheerful**  
**PamelaW: Cecil, you're definitely back tomorrow???**  
**CecilGPalmer: yes, we're driving back today, I'll be in to work as usual tomorrow**  
**PamelaW: good**  
**Chad46: hey Cecil, long time since I've seen you**  
**CecilGPalmer: yeah that doesn't seem like such a bad thing seeing as ur so ill....**  
**Chad46: true**  
**Vithyaa: hey!!**  
**CecilGPalmer: um.. hi??**  
**Vithyaa: Oh, I'm vithya, I'm new!!**  
**CecilGPalmer: oh, right helloo!!!**

"Cecil, we have to get ready for the last day of con," Earl said behind him, making him jump.  
"Oh yeah," Cecil sighed.  
"Pack now and then we can get staright into the car when we come back here later," Earl told him.  
"yeah, sure," Cecil replied.

 

"So, what are all of your coffee shop friends talking about?" Earl asked as he watched Cecil throw a pile of jackets in the general direction of a bag.

"There's a new girl called Vithya, Chad's ill and Maureen still wants to quit," Cecil said, shoving some shoes into the top of his suitcase.

"Maureen's been wanting to quit for months," Earl laughed.

"Yeah," Cecil agreed, "sit on that!" he demanded, pointing towards his suitcase. Earl rolled his eyes and sat down on the top of the case, allowing Cecil to zip it shut.

"Are you done?" Earl sighed as he stood back up.

"Almost!" Cecil cried, "give ma second to just," he trailed off as he dropped to the floor and rolled under his bed.

"Sorry, what are you doing?" Earl asked as Cecil disappeared completely under the bed.

"Just...looking," Cecil mumbled, and then he rolled back out, with a selection of objects in his hands.

"How do you make such a mess in two nights?" Earl questioned him. "This is the reason I don't even dare look in the direction of your bedroom anymore,"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Cecil sighed, waving a hand in dismissal.

 

_**The four weirdos** _

**Carlos_the_Scientist: I just  thought that you deserved to know that Nils is crying**

**EarlBakes: what?? Why?**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: because she's sad to leave...**

**CecilGPalmer: I promise I'm not laughing..... :)**

**EarlBakes: He's standing right next to me and I can confirm that he actually is laughing**

**NilanjanaS: Carlos, I can't believe you told them that!!!!!**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: that's what best friends are for!!! :)**

**NilanjanaS: yeah you are no longer my best friend... there's a spot open if anyone wants to be my new bestie!!**

**EarlBakes: awww, don't just levave Carlos!!**

**NilanjanaS: Just joking, I'd never leave Carlos!!!**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: glad to hear it!! Now will you hurry up and pack, the bathroom is still full of your makeup, it's all over the place!!!**

**NilanjanaS: whatever....**

**EarlBakes: wow, sounds like she's even worse than Cecil!!**

**CecilGPalmer: don't expose me like that!!!.**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: hey, you guys wanna go for a late breakfast to celebrate the end of the con???**

**EarlBakes: yeah sure**

**CecilGPalmer: yay!!!**

**NilanjanaS: meet you outside the hotel in twenty minutes???**

**CecilGPalmer: yup!!!**

 

"Right, get packed!" Earl said "We're not leaving until you do!" Cecil rolled his eyes, and got back to sorting his bags out.

 

Twenty five minutes later, they met the others outside.

"Sorry we're late, Cecil id ridiculously awful at packing!" Earl apologised.

"So's Nils," Carlos said, "her shoes were in the bath,"

"um, why?" Earl asked curiously as they began to head towards a cafe nearby.

"I don't know," Nilanjana murmured, "I don't remember putting them there,"

"I really don't ever want to see what your apartment looks like," Earl sighed.


	10. Chapter 10

Later, as they sat eating breakfast, Nilanjana came up with an idea.  
"We need to film a group collab or something soon," Nilanjana suggested.  
"We should become one of those like amazing youtube groups who always get together and make videos and stuff!" Earl suggested with a smile.  
"How are we gonna find videos to film when we all make such different stuff?" Carlos asked.  
"we could do videos where we show each other how to do things and stuff," Cecil suggested.  
"That's a bit vague," Nilanjana replied.  
"Like, you and Carlos could show me and Earl some science, and Earl could teach us to bake, and I could do makeup and stuff on you!" Cecil explained.  
"Oh, yeah, good idea," Carlos smiled.

 

"I'm gonna miss you guys," Nilanjana said eventually as they were finishing their meal.

"Yeah, it'll be weird without the two of you around all the time," Cecil smiled.

"Well, we're just gonna have to meet up loads," Earl decided.

"Yeah, when I'm not working," Cecil sighed, dropping his head onto the table in fake despair.

"What's your job?" Nilanjana asked.

"I work in coffee shop," Cecil explained, "we do good cakes though, and Pamela gives them to me for free sometimes. She's a good boss I guess,"

"Sounds like fun," Carlos said.

"Yeah, you should come in to the shop sometime, I'll give you free drinks and stuff," Cecil suggested.

"Cool!" Nilanjana smiled.

 

They wandered back to the convention centre, and spent a few hours meeting fans and buying things. Eventually, they made their way back to the hotel.

"Meet up in the parking lot to say goodbye?" Nilanjana asked as they reached Carlos and Nilanjana's room.

"Yeah, see you in a bit," Cecil smiled.

"Come on then," Earl said, grabbing Cecil's sleeve and beginning to drag him away, "you've still got bags to pack!"

 

Once Cecil had finally gotten all his stuff together, and Earl had double checked that the room was empty of all of their things, they wandered downstairs. Carlos and Nilanjana were already there, waiting by their pile of bags.

"Bye you guys!" Nilanjana cried, running forward and pulling Earl into a hug. Once she'd let him go, she turned to Cecil and hugged him too.

"Stay in contact, yeah?" Carlos said, stepping forward to hug them both.

"Of course," Cecil smiled.

"Yeah, I'm sure we can meet up soon!" Earl agreed.

"We really have to get going though," Carlos said sadly, "We've got a tight schedule to stick to to get home in time!"

"Uh! You and your schedules!" Nilanjana scoffed, jokingly shoving Carlos. "Bye you guys!" she added sadly as they began to walk away. 

 

They waved at each other, until eventually they disappeared amongst the lines of cars. Cecil let out a sad sigh as they threw their bags into the back of the car.

"Well, it'll be nice to get back to our little apartment," Earl said as he slid into the driver's seat. Cecil got into the passenger seat, and turned on the radio immediately.

"We need some good music to cheer us up!" Cecil declared, turning up the volume.

 

_ **Palmers (and Carlsberg) - family groupchat** _

**JaniceX: hey uncle cecil, are you coming to see us later when you get back????**  
**CecilGPalmer: I won't be back til late...**

**AbbyyP: maybe we could come to you tomorrow morning before your work shift???**

**CecilGPalmer: yeah, that'd be good, I'll text you once we get home!!**

**JaniceX: yayyy!**

**AbbyyP: alright, drive safe x**

**CecilGPalmer: will do!!**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my cat jumped onto my laptop whilst I was writing this chapter so if they're are any spelling errors that I haven't noticed then that's probably why.


	11. Chapter 11

_ **The four weirdos** _  
**NilanjanaS: heya, how's the drive going????**  
**CecilGPalmer: so far the traffic's been okay, Earl won't let me drive because he's too stubborn or something**  
**NilanjanaS: Carlos isn't letting me drive either :(**  
**CecilGPalmer: I thought you didn't like driving...**  
**NilanjanaS: i don't... but I don't like not being allowed to do things either**  
**CecilGPalmer: far enough...**  
**NilanjanaS: gotta go, Carlos is shouting at every one else on the road.... I think he's forgotten that the windows are open....**  
**CecilGPalmer: good luck with that, have fun!!!**  
**NilanjanaS: mmm, thanks**

 

"Carlos is getting road rage," Cecil laughed.

"Really, I thought he was too calm for that,"

"Me too," Cecil smiled.

"Right, let's stop for food!" Earl declared eventually.

 

**JosieOrtiz: hello Cecil dear, how are you???**  
**CecilGPalmer: oh, hi Josie, I'm good thank you**

**JosieOrtiz: i've been looking after your cat, like you asked me too**

**CecilGPalmer: thank you! How is he??**

**JoseOrtiz: good, but I think he misses you**

**CecilGPalmer: well, I'll be back to see him in about half an hour.**

**JosieOrtiz: oh good, well, I'll let you get back to your driving, see you soon!**

**CecilGPalmer: see you soon!!**

 

"Josie's says Khoshekh has been missing me," Cecil smiled, "I'm sure he's probably been missing you too!"

"Cecil, he's your cat, why would he be missing me?" Earl asked.

"He loves you, he always sits on your lap and purrs," Cecil replied.

"He's a cat, all cats do that!" Earl argued.

"No, Khoshekh only does that to people he likes!" Cecil told him.

"Fair enough," Earl smiled.

 

Half an hour of driving later, and they were finally home.

 

_**The four weirdos** _

**CecilGPalmer: we're home!!**

**NilanjanaS: literally just arrived home as well :)**

**EarlBakes: spooky coincidence!!**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: yes it is...**

**CecilGPalmer: I'm gonna go and see my cat now!**

**NilanjanaS: awww, I didn't know you had a cat**

**CecilGPalmer: yes, his name's Khoshekh!!**

**NilanjanaS: strange name**

**CecilGPalmer: rude!!**

**NilanjanaS: that's me!! Anyway, go see your cat and then get to sleep, we'll talk to you in the morning!!**

**Carlos_the_Scinetist: yeah, we need to unpack and stuff anyway, we'll talk later!! :)**

**EarlBakes: bye :)**

**CecilGPalmer: bye!!!**


	12. Chapter 12

The minute that they opened the door, a fluffy black cat darted up to them.  
"Hey Khoshekh!" Cecil smiled, bending down to scoop up the cat and dropping all of his bags in the doorway.  
"Cecil, can you at least let me in?" Earl asked from behind him. Cecil kicked a few bags aside to let Earl in. "Thank you," Earl sighed, stepping into the apartment and kicking the door shut behind him.

Earl dragged his bags into his room, dropping them by the side of his bed. He wandered back out and found Cecil's bags still piled up near the door. Cecil himself was in the living room, playing with the cat.  
"Cecil, how long are your bags gonna stay there?" Earl asked, flopping down onto one of the sofas.  
"I'll sort them out in a second," Cecil replied.   
"Alright, fine," Earl said, "I'm going to go to bed early,"  
"Really?" Cecil asked.  
"Yep, I'm exhausted," Earl sighed.

The next morning, Cecil woke up earlier than Earl. Checking his phone, he found a few notifications on the group chat.

_ **The four weirdos** _   
**NilanjanaS: good morning**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: Nils, your message just woke me up...**   
**NilanjanaS: good, will you make breakfast now???**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: make it yourself**   
**NilanjanaS: you know I can't cook**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: I hate cooking though :(**   
**CecilGPalmer: wow, looks like you two need to start living with Earl, he's a great cook!!**   
**NilanjanaS: well yeah he is a professional chef**   
**CecilGPalmer: yeah he makes great food**   
**EarlBakes: stop talking about me whilst I'm sleeping it's weird**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: morning**   
**EarlBakes: hi!**   
**CecilGPalmer: hey I didn't know you were awake**   
**EarlBakes: only just woke up**   
**CecilGPalmer: oh, is that you that just slammed a door**   
**EarlBakes: yeah, i pushed the kitchen door too hard. You're cat keeps shouting at me**   
**CecilGPalmer: he's probably hungry**   
**EarlBakes: come and feed him then, he's getting annoying**   
**CecilGPalmer: how can you be so rude about lovely little Khoshekh??**   
**EarlBakes: just come and feed him...**   
**CecilGPalmer: fine**

Cecil wandered into the kitchen, where he found an annoyed looking Earl trying to avoid stepping on the cat, who was circling round and round his feet.  
"Here boy," Cecil called, bending down and patting his knees. The cat immediately raced towards him, meowing loudly. "Come on, breakfast time!" he called as he poured some cat food into the bowl near the door. Khoshekh purred loudly as he stepped up to eat from the bowl.

 

"That's better, peace and quiet," Earl joked as the cat fell silent. "Now, do you want pancakes or waffles?"

"Waffles!" Cecil decided after a second of thinking.

"Good plan," Earl smiled, pulling some stuff out of the cupboards. "Have you unpacked?"

"No," Cecil sighed, "the bags are in my room though,"

"Well, as long as they're out of my way and I can't see them!" Earl told him.

"Yes, yes, don't worry, I'm keeping the rest of the apartment as clean as you like it," Cecil replied.

"Good, you know I hate mess," Earl sighed.

"Yes, I know!" Cecil huffed, "you only tell me every day," he mumbled as he wandered away.


	13. Chapter 13

Later in the morning, the doorbell rang, and Cecil dashed to open the door. Outside, he found his family, clustered together. At the front stood Janice, bouncing up and down slightly and smiling too much.  
"Why are you so smiley?" was the first thing Cecil asked.  
"She's had too much sugar," Steve said, shooting a glance at Abby, who grinned sheepishly.  
"Well, come in," Cecil said, stepping aside to let them past.

The three bsutled inside, pullling of their shoes and kicking them aside.  
"Hey, Earl!" Abby smiled, nodding past Cecil's shoulder. Earl was standing in the living room doorway, peering at the group.  
"Earl!" Janice cried, rushing forward and tackling the other man in a hug.  
"Okay, you're overly clingy today," Earl mumbled as Janice stepped back. The usually quiet young teen was a bundle of energy.  
"I told you she didn't need that much sugar," Steve grumbled at Abby, gently steering Janice into the lviing room and trying to calm her down.

"So, ypou've got work in a bit, right?" Abby asked, flopping onto the sofa.  
"Yeah," Cecil smiled.  
"Earl, I hear you're getting a new job, head chef,r ight?" Steve asked.  
"Yeah, if it all goes to plan I'll be starting next week," Earl replied.  
"That's good," Abby smiled.  
"Talking of work," Cecil sighed, pulling out his phone to answer a few messages.

_ **The Coffee Chat** _  
**PamelaW: Cecil, you're shift starts in two hours!!!**  
**CecilGPalmer: Yeah, i know**  
**PamelaW: just making sure**  
**PamelaW: Maureen, you have a shift in an hour**  
**Maureen123: I know!! We all know!! You don't have to give us hourly reminders!! We are fully functioning adults who can remember when our shifts are!!!**  
**PamelaW: I am so glad you are leaving soon**  
**Maureen123: thank you..**  
**CecilGPalmer: okay, I'm going to ignore this, I have family round. Pamela, I'll be there in time, I promise**

"Urgh, Pamela is irritating," Cecil stated, looking up from his phone.  
"That's your boss, right?" Abby asked.  
"Yeah, she's weird," Cecil sighed, "always calling pointless staff meetings to tell us the most random things,"  
"Your work is so lame," Janice said suddenly.  
"Why?" Cecil asked, looking round at his niece.  
"You have a group chat," she said simply.  
********  
Later, once his family had left, Cecil stepped out of the apartment and wandered down the street towards the cafe he worked in. He strolled down the street slowly, stopping to watch a pigeon pecking at some crumbs on the street. He only just managed to get there on time.

"Cecil!" cried Maureen from behind the counter as he wandered in. There were only a couple of customers in the cafe.

"Heya," he called, joining her behind the counter.

"How was the convention?" she asked, grabbing a cloth and wiping some crumbs off of the counter.

"Good thanks, I got some footage and stuff that I'll stick up on youtube soon I guess," he replied.

"Cool," she smiled, "hey, customers," she added, nodding towards some people who had just wandered in.

"I'll sort it," Cecil said, "go and and have a break for ten minutes if you want while I take their orders," he told her. She smiled gratefully and wandered through a small door into the kitchen.

 

"Hi, can I get a latte?" asked one girl, stepping forward from the group of three.

"Yeah, anything else?" Cecil asked, taping a few keys on the screen in front of him.

"Yeah, those two need to order as well," she said, gesturing towards her two friends.

"Hi, what can I get for you two?" Cecil called, leaning forward slightly, his blonde curls falling into his eyes slightly. Once he had given them their orders and they had wandered away to a table, he flopped down onto a little stool nearby.

 

Maureen came back in from the kitchen a few minutes later.

"Hey, you alright?" Cecil smiled.

"Yeah, just wandered into that little garden thing out the back to get some fresh air," she sighed.

"Does it even count as garden?" Cecil laughed, "it's just a tiny patch of dead grass,"

"True!" Maureen laughed. The two chatted quietly for a while, watching as a few of the customers left. 

 

"Hey!" called a voice after a while, and someone wandered into the cafe. Cecil looked up and blinked in shock as he recognised Nilanjana.

"Nils?" Cecil cried.

"Hey, I had to come into the are to pick up something from a friend, thought I'd pop in! Nilanjana smiled.

"How do you know where I work?" Cecil asked.

"Earl told me!" she laughed, wandering forward and leaning on the counter.

"I know you," Maureen said slowly, pointing one finger at Nilanjana, "you're the science girl from youtube,"

"Yeah!" Nilanjana smiled, "nice to meet you!" 

"Can I get you anything Nils? On the house, of course," Cecil smiled.

"No way, I'm paying like a regular customer," Nilanjana protested, "I'll have a tea please,"


	14. Chapter 14

**EarlBakes: Hey Carlos, do you know why Nils is in our town??**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: hey Earl!! Yeah her friend is giving her a camera or something, why???**   
**EarlBakes: she messaged me asking where Cecil worked, wanted to pop in and see him or something**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: oh okay, I hope she isn't disrupting him....**   
**EarlBakes: it's fine, I'm pretty sure that Cecil hardly ever gets much work done anyway, him and his friends at work spend too much time chatting**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: oh okay :)**

Meanwhile, Nilanjana was leaning against the counter, sipping her tea slowly.  
"It's quiet in here," she stated, casually blowing on her tea to try and cool it down a little.  
"Yeah," Cecil agreed, "we haven't been getting many customers recently. Apart from a few regular customers, we don't get many visitors, especially at this time in the afternoon," Nilanjana nodded in understanding.  
"I've got to go soon," she sighed, "I want to test out my new camera later,"  
"New camera?" Cecil asked.  
"Yeah, that's what I was picking up from a friend," Nilanjana explained. Cecil nodded in understanding.  
"hey, my shift'ts over!" Maureen called suddenly, wandering out from behind the counter. The others waved goodbye to her as she exited the shop.

A few minutes later, a boy in his late teens wandered in, black headphones pulled over his ears.  
"Leland!" Cecil called out in greeting.  
"'Sup, dude," Leland replied, pulling his headphones off of his head. Before Leland switched off his music, Cecil heard a few briefs seconds of a song with a fast beat. Leland took his place behind the counter with Cecil immediately, leaving his headphones around his neck and waving idly to Nilanjana when Cecil introduced her.  
"I've really got to go!" Nilanjana cried suddenly, looking down at her watch. After saying goodbye, she turned and dashed away. Cecil laughed fondly as he watched her go.  
*******  
Later that afternoon, Cecil trudged back to his apartment.  
"Hey!" called a voice from the kitchen as he reached his house. Cecil called out in reply, tiredly wandering into the kitchen, where Earl was stirring something in a saucepan. Cecil moved next to his roommate, staring down at the food in the pan. I response, his stomach growled loudly.  
"Hungry?" Earl laughed.  
"Yeah, and exhausted," Cecil sighed, dropping his head onto Earl's shoulder. "I should have taken today off, I never have any energy the day after a con,"  
"I think I recall saying that to you," Earl teased him.  
"Yeah, well, you're always right," Cecil sighed.  
"Yes, I am," Earl replied, "So go and sit down in the living room and I'll bring some food in in a second," he told Cecil, watching as his friend wandered away.

"Hey, Carlos was saying we should all get together and film some videos soon," Earl told him later as they sat eating dinner.  
"When were you talking to Carlos?" Cecil asked, "I didn't see any messages on the group chat,"  
"It was on a private chat," Earl explained. Cecil glanced over in Earl's direction confusedly. "Don't worry, I'm not trying to take your crush from you," he said.  
"I know," Cecil said, shoving Earl playfully.


	15. Chapter 15

A few days later, the doorbell rang. Earl jumped up to get it, followed by a rather excited Cecil. As the door swung open, it revealed Nilanjana and Carlos standing there. They wandered in, Carlos looking slightly pale.  
"You alright?" Cecil asked, gently shaking Carlos's shoulder.  
"Yeah, just not feeling very well," he sighed, before breaking off into a coughing fit.  
"Are you sure you don't want to do this another day?" Earl asked. Carlos shook his head firmly.  
"I tried to tell him he was too sick, but he won't listen," Nilanjana sighed.

"Your apartment's nice," Carlos smiled as they wandered through the living room, where Cecil had set up the camera.  
"Thanks," Cecil replied, "Earl does most of the cleaning,"  
"Only because Cecil's the messiest person in the world," Earl sighed. They sat down in front of the camera, with Cecil and Earl on the floor and Carlos and Nilanjana on the sofa behind them.  
"Hello everybody!" Cecil cried at the camera, waving enthusiastically, "today I have Earl with me, obviously!" he shoved Earl's shoulder playfully, and watched with a laugh as Earl fell sideways onto the floor, "this is Nilanjana and Carlos, and today we got you guys to send in some questions and stuff!" Cecil passed his phone to Earl, who read out the frist question.  
"They want to know how we met," Earl laughed.  
"I think Cecil and Carlos shoulder answer this," Nilanjana laughed.  
"Yep," Earl agreed.   
"Fine, fine," Cecil sighed, while Carlos only laughed happily. "So, I found some of Carlos's videos a while back and messaged him a bit. Then we foudn out we were going to the same convention!"  
"Yeah, then somehow we all ended up on a group chat together, and we met up at the con!" Carlos smiled, "and after doing and a livestream and Nils got really drunk, we all just bonded!"  
"I was not that drunk!" Nilanjana cried, picking up a cushion and swinging it at Carlos's head.  
"You kinda were," Earl laughed, causing him to receive a cushion to the face as well.

"Next question!" Nilanjana cried, lunging forward and snatching the phone from Earl's hand and reading loudly, "Are Carlos and Cecil dating?" Nilanjana burst out laughing, flopping over the arm of the sofa, crying with laughter now.  
"I didn't see that one on there," Cecil murmured quietly, looking up at Carlos cautiously. Carlos simply smiled with slight embarrassment.  
"No, we're not," Carlos said simply.  
"Yeah, we're not," Cecil agreed.  
********  
Later, once their videos were filmed, Nilanjana fell asleep on one of the sofas. Earl bustled away to the kitchen, after saying something about making dinner for them.  
"Hey, that question about us didn't make you awkward, right?" Carlos asked quietly, moving to sit next to Cecil on the other sofa.  
"No," Cecil smiled, "I get it quite a lot, people thought Earl and I were dating when he first started appearing in my videos,"  
"Well, you are both very close," Carlos pointed out, "and you do have the most ridiculous nicknames for each other,"   
"Yeah, that's just because we've been best friends since we were super young," Cecil explained.  
"Oh, I kinda got the idea from Earl that maybe the two of you had dated in the past," Carlos replied.  
"Well, technically we did," Cecil sighed, "but that was when we were young, and still figuring out who we were as people, you know?"  
"Yeah I get it," Carlos said.  
"We're nothing more than best friends now," Cecil said with a smile.  
"Well, that's interesting to know," Carlos said quietly, blushing as he said it.  
"Umm.. I'm going to see what Earl's up to, I'll be back in a second," Cecil hastily explained, before speeding away.  
"Well, that was awkward," said a voice, and that was when Carlos realised that Nilanjana had been awake the whole time.

"Earl," Cecil whispered as he wandered into the kitchen. Earl looked up from the bowl of food he was preparing. "Do you think Carlos has a crush on me?" he asked, sitting down at a stool near one of their kitchen counters.  
"I really don't know," Earl said slowly, "maybe you should ask Nils,"  
"Yeah I guess, but I get the feeling she wouldn't tell even if she did know," Cecil sighed. He stood up and stepped towards Earl, dropping his head onto his friend's shoulder and letting out a frustrated groan. "I can't cope with crushes," he sighed.  
"Yeah, I realised, " Earl laughed.


	16. Chapter 16

"Dinner's ready!" Earl called through to the others in the living room, and they watched as the other two trooped into the room. Cecil helped Earl hand out plates of food, and they ended up all sitting on the sofas, watching the tv as they ate. Cecil and Carlos ended up on one sofa, with Nilanjana and Earl watching them in amusement from the other.

"This is good food," Carlos stated, nodding towards Earl who thanked him with a smile. They ate in silence for a while, the only sound being the soft chatter form the tv. Then Carlos began to cough again. Cecil watched in concern, unsure what to do. Eventually, he decided on placing one hand awkwardly on Carlos's shoulder.  
"Are you alright?" Cecil asked eventually as Carlos fell silent.  
"Yeah, I'm good," Carlos sighed, "I've got the worst headache though," he sighed.  
"I'll find you some medicine," Earl offered, jumping up and heading towards the kitchen, "actually, Nils can you come with me a second?" he asked. Nilanjana jumped up and scurried after him.  
"We have weird friends," Cecil sighed, leaning back into the pillows. Carlos nodded in agreement.

"So, what's up?" Nilanjana asked, hopping up onto the kitchen side and sitting there, watching Earl search through a cupboard for some pills.  
"Does Carlos like Cecil?" Earl asked, turning around with a packet of pills in his hand.  
"Are you really asking me to discuss my best friend's crushes?" Nilanjana asked, because I'm not gonna do that,"  
"Nils, please," Earl asked, leaning forward, "we need to help those two awkward idiots,"  
"Wait, does Cecil like Carlos?" Nilanjana exclaimed.  
"Ssshh!" Earl hushed her, "and, yeah, but don't ever tell him that I told you!"  
"This changes everything!" Nilanjana gasped. "Carlos likes Cecil too! Oh my gosh! We can be matchmakers, Earl!"  
"Alright, calm down!" Earl told her, a grin spreading across his face "we just both need to convince our friends to be more honest with each other about their feelings, okay?" he said, "be subtle,"  
"Alrighty!" Nilanjana nodded, before striding back into the living room.

Carlos was leaning against Cecil slightly, one hand clutching at his forehead. Cecil was watching the other man in concern.  
"I think it's a migraine," Carlos winced, "you know I get bad migraines, right Nils?"  
"Yeah I remember," she said softly, biting her lip slightly with worry, "you haven't had one for months though, even the doctors thought they had gone for good this time. It must be this illness bringing them back,"  
"We'd better go," Carlos said, struggling to sit upright, "if it gets any worse I won't be able to get back in time before it gets really bad,"  
"Carlos, do you not remember what happened last time you tried to travel in a car with a migraine?" Nilanjana asked, shuddering slightly.  
"You guys can stay here if you want," Earl offered, holding out the pack of medicine to Carlos, along with a glass of water. The scientist took them eagerly.  
"That would be good," Nilanjana said, looking at Carlos in a strangely protective way, "but it'll have to be really silent for Carlos, and I don't wanna disrupt your evening,"  
"It's fine!" Cecil exclaimed, "we can be quiet, can't we Earl?" Earl nodded.  
"Okay, thank you," Nilanjana smiled, "is that okay with you Carlos?" Carlos nodded weakly.


	17. Chapter 17

Later that night, Cecil sat on his bed, texting his friends, who were all situated within different parts of the apartment.

_**The four weirdos** _   
**CecilGPalmer: hey, how's everyone doing??**   
**EarlBakes: I'm good, Nils is helping me edit this video I filmed yesterday**

**NIlanjanaS: yeah we're having fun over here, come join us. Turns out you can still have fun in silence!!**

**CecilGPalmer: alright, I'm creeping your way. Hey, these notifications aren't gonna be making noise from Carlos's phone are they??**

**NilanjanaS: nope, I made sure his phone was on silent**

**CecilGPalmer: cool.**

 

A few moments later, Cecil wandered into Earl's room, and found the other two sat on Earl's bed, peering at is laptop screen.

"Hello, and welcome to the extremely quiet party," Nilanjana whispered. Cecil held back a laugh, and flopped down on the bed next to Earl.

"Oh, wow, it's finished," Earl murmured after a second, and they all clustered around the screen to have a look at the finished video.

"Cecil, your hair is in my face," Nilanjana whispered.

"You get used to it," Earl sighed, "it used to be so long that I could braid it," he laughed.

"Yeah, I looked wonderful, not!" Cecil laughed quietly.

"Aww, you two are so sweet!" Nilanjana smiled, "you'd make a great couple! Oops, I did not say that!" she corrected herself, her hand over her mouth.

"It's fine," Cecil smiled kindly, "we're kinda used to it." At that moment, his phone beeped quietly.

 

_ **The Coffee Chat** _

**PamelaW: Maureen and Cecil, you're on the first shift tomorrow morning**

**Maureen123: omg we know!!!!**

**PamelaW: I'm just making sure, as you do seem to have a habit of turning up rather late, or not at all Maureen**

**Maureen123: whatever, I'm quitting soon**

**PamelaW: you've been saying that for months**

**CecilGPalmer: urgh, you guys are always having the same fight!!**   
**Maureen123: how goes filming mr famous youtuber??**   
**CecilGPalmer: Carlos got a migraine and now Nils, Earl and I are stuck in Earl's room being very quiet**

**Maureen123: sounds like fun**

**PamelaW: WORK CHAT ONLY!!!!**

**CecilGPalmer: sorry....**

 

"Urgh, my colleagues are mad," Cecil sighed, throwing his phone down onto the bed. Nilanjana laughed, but was cut off as she let out a long yawn.

"I'd better get some sleep, suppose I'll be on the sofa that Carlos isn't asleep on," Nilanjana sighed.

"Hey, you can sleep in here if you want," Earl offered, "that way you won't disrupt Carlos if you get up in the night,"

"And where will you sleep?" Nilanjana asked.

"I'll just share Cecil's bed," Earl suggested after a second of thinking.

"Oh you will, will you?" murmured Cecil sleepily.

"Are you two sure you're not dating?" Nilanjana murmured.

"Pretty sure," Earl replied with a yawn, "We'll leave you to it,"


	18. Chapter 18

Earl woke up confused and not sure where he was. Looking around he recognised Cecil's room. Squinting into the darkness, he realised that the shape under the covers next to him was Cecil. As the last details of the night before fell into pace, everything made sense.  
"Cecil," Earl called, trying to wake up his friend. There was no reply. Rolling his eyes, Earl picked up a pillow and brought it crashing down over Cecil's face.  
"Oh my... what the... what?" Cecil mumbled, sitting up in bed and blinking heavily. "oh right," he sighed, dropping backwards.  
"I'm gonna make breakfast," Earl decided, before strolling away. Cecil groaned and rolled over, burying his face in the pillows.

"Heya!" calleda voice, and Earl saw Carlos wandering aimlessly around the kitchen.  
"Hey, how's your head?" Earl asked, as he quickly fell into the motion of pulling pans from the shelves and ingredients from cupboards.  
"Fine," Carlos said, "they always wear off after I sleep well,"  
"Good to hear," said another voice, and Nilanjana wandered in, followed by Cecil who was only wearing a pair of jeans.  
"Cecil put a shirt on please," Earl instructed him.  
"Why?" he asked.  
"Because we have guests. Also, it's freezing in here," Earl explained. 

Cecil however, had suddenly noticed Carlos, who seemed to be staring at Cecil's chest.  
"Carlos," Nilanjana murmured, shoving her friend.  
"Uhh , oh, um, tattoos!" Carlos cried suddenly. Cecil narrowed his eyes in confusion. "I like your tattoos," Carlos explained, "I've only seen the ones on your arms before,"  
"Oh, I have a video about them on my channel," Cecil said, looking at his tattoos slightly self-consciously.  
"I haven't watched it I don't think," Carlos mumbled, as if he was trying to remember.  
"Right," Cecil mumbled awkwardly, "right, a shirt!" he cried, as if he was grateful for the distraction, and dashed away.  
"Cecil, find something that might fit Carlos!" Earl called after him, and he heard a noise that might have been a reply. "Sorry Nils, I don' think we've got any women's clothes, though some of Cecil's clothing comes quote close," he laughed.  
"It's fine," she smiled.  
********  
Later, as they sat around finishing breakfast, Nilanjana made a discovery.  
"Oh!" she screamed as she opened up a message on her phone. "Carlos, I've been invited to an event for smaller youtube creators!"  
"That's awesome!" Carlos congratulated her, and the others echoed him.   
"Guys!" she cried, "check your phones, your names are all on the list too!" The others checked, and soon they realised they were all going.  
"It's in a month's time," Earl murmured, checking his calendar on his phone, "yup, we're free!" Nilanjana let out an excited scream.  
"We're going to another con together you guys!" she cried.


	19. Chapter 19

"Oh no!" Cecil screamed suddenly at the top of his voice.  
"What?" Earl cried, as they all looked up in alarm.  
"I'm half an hour late for work already!" he screamed, already racing out of the room.  
"Does he always scream like that?" Nilanjana asked in concern.  
"Quite often," Earl said with a nod. That was when he noticed that something had made Cecil stop in the doorway. "Cecil?" he called out to his roommate, who was simply staring at his phone.  
"I'm going," Cecil mumbled, and he heard the door slam shut. It was only then that Earl remembered what day it was.

_ **The Coffee Chat** _   
**Maureen123: Cecil you have to get here, Pamela is maaaadd**   
**PamelaW: thank you for that**   
**PamelaW: Cecil Gershwin Palmer! Where on Earth are you??**   
**PamelaW: CECIL!!!!!**   
**CecilGPalmer: I'm almost there, please calm down, I'm hardly ever this late, I'm sorry**

  
Cecil burst into the cafe, his heart racing. There were no customers to be seen, he wondered if it was to do with Pamela's terrible mood swings.  
"Pamlea, I am so sorry," he panted, already feeling his chest tighten.  
"I expect this from Maureen," Pamela began sternly.  
"Thanks," Maureen murmured from nearby  
"But from you, Cecil," Pamela said with a shake of her head, "you could have at least messaged me." Cecil felt like he might cry. He'd never been this late before. He felt like an idiot. Emotions began to pile up.  
"Hey, Cecil," Maureen said, stepping forward, "you okay?" he said nothing, just concentrated on breathing. "We're going outside," she told Pamlea firmly, steering Cecil towards the kithcen, and then out through the back door.

 

"Woah there," she said quietly, sitting Cecil down on a small wall, and perching next to him, "what's up, hey?" she asked, reaching out to brush away a stray tear that had slid down his cheek, "I've never seen you like this before,"

"Nothing," he mumbled, shaking his head and sending another tear flying, "I'm just being silly,"

 "Is it Pamela? You know she isn't really that mad, she adores you deep down," Maureen told him.

"Not just that," he mumbled, realising he sounded like a toddler. "Today's the anniversary of... of.." he took a deep, shaking breath, "the day my mother abandoned me,"

"Woah," Maureen sighed, "I'm sorry dude,"

"It's been so long, doesn't normally upset me. But I'd forgotten, only saw the date as I went out the door, just crashed down on me I guess," he sighed.

"That's understandable," she said, "I'll call Earl for you, okay? You need to head home."

"No, I have to work, Pamela will be mad," Cecil protested.

"I'll deal with Pamela, okay, doesn't exactly matter if I get fired, does it?" Maureen smiled, "you need to go home and rest, you can't work properly today," Cecil nodded reluctantly, and handed her his phone.

 

"Hey!" she spoke into the phone after Earl picked up, "It's Maureen... Yeah, he's not doing good, can you come get him? Thanks dude," she hung up and passed Cecil his phone, "Earl realised what day it was and guessed you'd be upset, he's on his way," she said with a smile.

"Thanks," Cecil mumbled.

"Stay there, I'll go tell Pamela," she said gently, before striding back indoors. Left alone, Cecil sniffed hurriedly, and wiped his tears away in embarrassment.

 

"Heya, Cece," said a voice eventually, and someone knelt down in front of him, "you wanna go home?"

"Yeah," Cecil said, letting Earl pull him to his feet. The two rushed through the cafe quickly. Cecil tried to avoid the stares from customers, but found himself stopped by a regular customer.

"Cecil? Are you okay?" the old woman asked, stepping up to him.

"He's fine, just a bit overwhelmed," Earl explained. The old woman looked towards Cecil, as if asking for him to confirm. He nodded numbly. She stepped away, looking over her shoulders in concern a few times.

 

"Hey, the others are still at the apartment, by the way," Earl said as they got into his car. Cecil stopped and looked at Earl blankly.

"No, they can't.... no" Cecil stammered weakly.

"It's okay, they'll understand," Earl reassured him.

"You told them?" Cecil asked in concern.

"No, I didn't know if you wanted that," Earl said, driving up the road.

"Tell them, I'd rather you did it," he sighed.

 

Back at the apartment, Earl steered Cecil straight towards his room, and then wandered into the living room. He was greeted by two concerned and confused faces.

"Alright, I guess you guys are a bit confused," he sighed, and then he explained everything to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I don't fully enjoy writing sad stuff but it's all important to the plot!


	20. Chapter 20

There was a soft knock on Cecil's bedroom door.  
"Come in," he mumbled, guessing it was most likely Earl.  
"Hey, it's me," came a voice, and Carlos stepped inside, pushing the door shut behind him. Cecil immediately hid his face, embarrassed for Carlos to see him like that. "I can go, if you want, I just thought you might wanna talk" Carlos said awkwardly, still hovering near the door.  
"No, stay," Cecil said after thinking for a moment.

Carlos moved over, and sat gently on the edge of Cecil's bed.  
"Hey, um... Earl told us what happened," he said, "I'm sorry, I never knew... I just... assumed you didn't get on with your mother or something,"  
"It's okay, it's not something I talk about a lot," Cecil sighed, sitting up slowly. Carlos moved slightly closer to him, and Cecil leaned against the scientist without thinking about it.  
"I don't know what to say," Carlos sighed, "I guess I'm not as good as this stuff as Earl is,"  
"It's fine," Cecil said, and a tiny smile flickered across his face. "Do you think it'll ever get easier? The painful memories, I mean,"  
"I, don't know what to say," Carlos echoed himself.  
"Earl never replies properly, but, you're a scientist, I thought you might know," Cecil said.  
"Well, I think it probably will, maybe you might need to talk to someone though," Carlos suggested gently.  
"I've tried, I'm not very good at sharing my feelings," Cecil sighed.

They sat in silence for a few moments. Cecil realised eventually that he'd stopped crying, and his breathing was almost normal again. The door creaked, and Earl appeared. Carlos stood up slowly, allowing Earl to take his place.  
"Hey, I thought you'd wanna talk to Carlos, so I sent him in," Earl said once Carlos had slipped back out of the room. Cecil said nothing, he simply flopped down, resting his head in Earl's lap. Almost immediately, Earl began to smooth Cecil's blonde curls out with his fingers, a technique he had always used to calm Cecil down.  
"I need to text Abby," Cecil said eventually, "I need to know if she's okay," Earl grabbed Cecil's phone and handed it to him.

**CecilGPalmer: hey Abbs, you doing okay???**   
**AbbyyP: yeah, just always get angry on this day ya know?? Steve's good company though. How you going**   
**CecilGPalmer: not great, and memories and all that. How do you not get upset??**   
**AbbyyP: I dunno, I guess coz I was older I saw how it affected you, and how I had to look after you. I got angry at mom instead of upset**   
**CecilGPalmer: well, I'll leave you to your anger I guess**   
**AbbyyP: Okay, take care x**

"Abby's fine, just a bit angry," Cecil said. Earl smiled, gently taking Cecil's phone and putting it back on the table next to his bed.  
"You wanna sleep for a bit?" Earl asked, knowing how quickly Cecil could become exhausted. Cecil nodded. Earl smiled, and stood up slowly, leaving Cecil alone.

"Hey you guys," Earl sighed, wandering back into the kitchen, where Carlos and Nilanjana were talking quietly. As he spoke, they jumped slightly, and fell silent, as if they didn't want him to hear their conversation.  
"We really should get going Earl," Nilanjana said, "tell Cecil we said goodbye, yeah?"  
"You can probably stick your head round the door and say goodbye quickly before he falls asleep," Earl said.

Nilanjana wandered to Cecil's bedroom, knocking lightly on the door before pushing it open. She leaned round the door frame slowly.  
"Hey Cecil, we're gonna go now, okay?" she said softly.  
"Okay," he mumbled, "see you soon, I hope,"  
"Yeah, if not, I guess we've all got that con soon," she smiled. She stepped away from the door, and let Carlos in.  
"Hey, uh, bye Cecil," Carlos said slowly, "I hope you feel a bit better soon," he said. Cecil looked up and gave him a weak smile.  
"Bye," he murmured, already half asleep. Carlos smiled, and stepped out. "Come on then, we'd better be going," he said to Nilanjana.


	21. Chapter 21

<p>Cecil woke up a few hours later, and heard the sound of soft chat from somewhere in the flat. He stumbled out of his room, following the sound to the kitchen, where he found Earl talking towards his laptop.<br />  
"Hey," Cecil said, running one hand tiredly through his hair.<br />  
"Hiya, I was baking so I've set up a live stream," Earl explained. Cecil nodded, and wandered into the shot quickly to wave hello, before moving to watch from behind the camera.</p>

<p>"What you making?" Cecil called.<br />  
"Chocolate cake," Earl said with a smile, and watched with a laugh as Cecil immediately perked up.<br />  
"Awesome!" Cecil beamed.<br />  
"I told you guys he'd like that!" Earl told the audience. With a smile, Cecil bounced around to peer over Earls' shoulder. "Hold that," Earl said, passing a bowl of flour over to Cecil who took it.<br />  
"Someone on the chat said that you look sad," Earl said a while later, gently nudging Cecil as he poured cake mix into a tin.<br />  
"Oh, um... I'm good," Cecil said with a small smile. "Just, uh... life gets tricky sometimes I guess,"<br />  
"Which is why we're making cake!" Earl added.<br />  
********<br />  
Once the cake was in the oven, Earl shut down the livestream.<br />  
"So, how are you really?" Earl asked.<br />  
"Better," Cecil replied, and then realised he had a bunch of texts from Carlos.</p>

**Carlos_the_scientist: heya, I hope you're doing okay**   
**Carlos_the_scientist: you probably aren't gonna see this but I just wanted to say that like I'm always here if you wanna talk and stuff**   
**Carlos_the_scientist: like, I've been through bad stuff and I get it's hard to talk about**   
**Carlos_the_scientist: sorry, i sound weird**   
**CecilGPalmer: thank you :) it means a lot.**

Cecil put his phone down with a smile.  
"Was that Carlos?" asked Earl.  
"Yeah," Cecil said quietly.  
"You've got to tell him how you feel," Earl said softly.  
"I can't Earl, you know I'm terrified of rejection," Cecil protested.  
"I've got a feeling he wouldn't say no," Earl grinned.  
"What?" cried Cecil, "Did Nils say something?"  
"I'm not saying that," Earl said, but slyly nodding at the same time, "just, maybe give it a try," Cecil nodded.  
"Alright, soon I guess," he smiled.


	22. Chapter 22

Cecil wandered into work the next morning, and was immedattely cornered by Maureen.  
"You sure you're okay?" she asked in concern.  
"Really, I'm fine," he smiled, "thanks for being so wonderful," he said, giving her a quick hug. "Customers," he alerted her as her heard the door swing opne.  
"Got it," Maureen smiled, already heading towards the counter. Cecil hurried after her.

"Hey, welcome! What can I get you today?" Cecil smiled, putting on his most professional voice.  
"Heya," the girl opposite him smiled, "can I get a cappuccino please," she drawled, leaning forward on the counter and blinking up at him.  
"Uh, yeah," Cecil said slightly uncomfortably, turning away to make the drink whilst Maureen took her money.  
"Cecil, she's about to start flirting with you, I can tell," Maureen whispered.  
"Yes, I know," Cecil sighed. Maureen took over making the drink.  
"Sort it out then," she laughed fondly.

"Hey, um, your drink will be just a second," Cecil said kindly.  
"Great," she smiled, leaning even closer, "I was wondering if I could get your number with that," she smirked.  
"Um, sorry, I'm not exactly supposed to... it's not professional, um," Cecil stammered.  
"My boy here's trying to tell you he's not interested," Maureen said with a kind smile, handing over her drink.  
"Oh, really?" the girl said, still smirking.  
"Uh, yeah," Cecil said in embarrassment, "sorry,"  
"Huh, am I not pretty?" she said, blinking up at him in fake sadness.  
"Oh, no, it's not like that!" he cried. "I'm just," he sighed, trailing off, "not exactly interested in girls," he said slowly.  
"Oh, right," she said, "sorry, I'll be off," and then she turned and sashayed out of the cafe.

"Well, that was interesting," Maureen laughed, "how often does that happen to you?"  
"More often than you think," Cecil sighed, stealing a cookie from one of the racks and taking a huge bite of it. Maureen smiled.  
"Your phone keeps flashing by the way," she told him,nodding to where he'd ditched his phone on the side behind him. He grabbed it and peered at the messages.

**Carlos_the_Scientist: hey, i'm in your area again, was shopping and stuff, was wondering if you minded me popping in to your work?**   
**CecilGPalmer: I've got a lunch break in forty minutes, wanna meet me then??**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: yeah, sure**   
**CecilGPalmer: see ya!**

Forty minutes later, Carlos strolled into the cafe, waving happily to Cecil.  
"Ooh, your crush is here," Maureen teased, shoving Cecil towards Carlos.  
"Thanks for that," Cecil hissed, watching as Chad wandered in for his shift. "You two behave whilst I'm gone," he sighed, grabbing Carlos's arm and quickly steering him away fro Maureen.  
"Hi," Carlos smiled as they got outside.  
"Hey, you wanna go somewhere?" Cecil asked, "I've got about an hour, but Chad won't mind if I'm a bit late back,"  
"Yeah, where do you reckon is a good place?" Carlos asked. Cecil thought for a second, before a good idea reached him.  
"Come on," Cecil smiled, "I've got an idea.

They wandered through the city, with Carlos constantly asking where they were going.  
"Not telling," Cecil argued over and over again, "you'll just have to wait and see!" Eventually, they reached a huge, black metal fence, and, inside of it, a huge green park.  
"Ooh, this is pretty," Carlos smiled as they walked along the path and deeper into the park. Lining the paths were hundreds of flowers in all of the colours of the raining. Cecil led him to a tiny building in the centre, which was surrounded by small wooden benches.  
"Sir there," Cecil said, gently pushing Carlos down onto a bench. Carlos looked up at him curiously. "I'll be back in a second," he said, and then disappeared into the building. Carlos waited curiously, and slightly nervously.

A few minutes later, Cecil appeared again, with a plastic bag in his hand. He threw it down onto the bench and sat down opposite Carlos. Without saying anything he pulled out a bunch of packets of food.  
"Here, he said, throwing some towards Carlos.  
"Oh, thanks," Carlos smiled, "so, what is this place?"  
"It's just a park, but the people who own it run a little shop so you can get food and stuff. I love this place, its nice to come here and get away from things," Cecil replied. They sat in silence for a while, eating the strange selection of food that Cecil had picked out.

"Oh, I'm just gonna get this over and done with," Cecil groaned suddenly, dropping his head forward onto the bench.  
"What?" Carlos asked slowly. Cecil sat up with a sigh.  
"I've just been kinda wondering, uh... would you ever maybe wanna go out on like a date with me or something?" Cecil babbled out the last part of the sentence, feeling the relief of asking it after all that time.  
"Yes!" cried Carlos, "I mean, sure that would be cool,"  
"Really?" Cecil asked.  
"Yeah, I've kinda been meaning to ask you the same thing," Carlos laughed slightly. Cecil let out a little squeal of delight, swinging his legs back and forth rapidly, the soles of his shoes scraping across the floor.   
"I really have to go back to work soon," Cecil sighed eventually.  
"Yeah," Carlos sighed.

They trudged back to the park entrance.  
"I'll see you soon, yeah?" Carlos said as they parted.  
"Yeah," Cecil smiled, pulling Carlos into a tight hug. "See you soon!" They wandered away from each other, glancing over their shoulders until they disappeared from each other's view.

"Guess what just happened!" Screamed Cecil as he ran into the cafe, ignoring the looks he got from the customers.  
"Tell me everything," Chad said with a smirk.


	23. Chapter 23

"I can't believe it," Earl cried later, once Cecil had got back and told him what had happened.  
"Isn't it amazing?" Cecil cried, jumping around.  
"Ahh I'm so happy!" Earl shouted, hugging Cecil. "Oh my gosh, this is so exciting,"

 _ **The four weirdos**_  
**NilanjanaS: excuse me, mr Palmer, I'm here to give you a warning: don't you dare break my friend's heart**  
**Carlos_the_Scientist: Nils, you're embarrassing me, like a parent :(**  
**CecilGPalmer: it's fine Nils, I don't intend to hurt him**  
**Carlos_the_Scientist: :) :) :)**  
**NilanjanaS: urgh, Carlos you use too many smiley faces**  
**EarlBakes: I'd just like to say that I'm super happy for you guys!**  
**Carlos_the_Scientist: thanks :)**  
**Carlos_the_Scientist: hey, Cecil, can I facetime you???**  
**CecilGPalmer: sure :)**  
********  
"Heya," Carlos smiled, his face slightly blurry on Cecil's laptop screen.  
"Hi," Cecil said, leaning closer to his screen.  
"Are you free for our date this Saturday?" Carlos asked.  
"Yeah," Cecil replied, beaming.  
"Yay," Carlos smiled. There was silence for a moment. "You're super pretty, you know that right?" Carlos said suddenly. Cecil blushed.  
"Really?" he laughed awkwardly.  
"I mean it," Carlos smiled, "I mean, look at you, you look awesome!"  
"Thanks, you're pretty cute too," Cecil smiled, and then it was Carlos's turn to blush.

They chatted for hours, until Cecil realised he was almost falling asleep.  
"Carlos, I think I need to sleep now," Cecil said with a sigh.  
"Mmm, me too," Carlos sighed. Neither of them got around to hanging up though, and eventually Carlos fell asleep.  
"Carlos," Cecil called softly through the screen. There was no reply. "Night," Cecil sighed, before shutting off the laptop, and falling asleep almost instantly.


	24. Chapter 24

Saturday came around quickly, and Cecil spent the first part of the day bouncing around the flat in a mixture of excitement and nerves.  
"Will you please calm down?" Earl sighed for the millionth time that day as Cecil tried to eat lunch. Cecil smiled slightly, taking a tiny bite from the sandwich that Earl had made for him.  
"What time is it?" Cecil asked between mouthfuls.  
"Almost one," Earl replied.  
"Four more hours," Cecil sighed.

Those fours hours slowly dragged along, until it was eventually time. Cecil drove through the town, his stomach flipping over and over with nerves. It took about half an hour to reach Carlos's city.  
"This place is super pretty," he murmured to himself, whilst he peered at street signs, desperately looking for the place where Carlos had said they should meet. Finding the right road, he turned around the corner and parked by the side of the road. The minute he stepped out of his car, he heard someone calling him.  
"Cecil! Cecil!" called a voice, and Cecil spun around to see Carlos striding towards him. Cecil smiled, stepping forwards to meet him. Without thinking about it, he pulled Carlos into a hug. "Heya," Carlos murmured.  
"Hi," Cecil smiled as he stepped back. "So, you gonna tell me more about this mystery date?"  
"This way," Carlos laughed, grabbing Cecil's hand and dragging him down the road.

They got into Carlos's car and Carlos drove for a while.  
"So," Carlos said as he pulled into a tiny, empty parking lot, "I know this looks creepy, but trust me, this place is beautiful," Cecil hopped out of the car and looked at Carlos expectantly.  
"Alright then, lead the way," Cecil smiled.

Carlos grabbed Cecil's hand and led him down a tiny gravel path. They walked for a while, with Cecil trying not to blush or explode with awkwardness. Eventually, the path came to the edge of a cliff, and Cecil gasped he looked down onto a tiny, sandy beach. The sea seemed to stretch out for miles.  
"Wow," Cecil murmured, "it's beautiful,"  
"Told you," Carlos smiled, before leading the way down a tiny path. As they reached the beach, Carlos dropped a bag he was carrying and pulled out a blanket, which he laid down onto the sand.

They sat next to each other for a while, just watching the waves crash down onto the beach.  
"So, how are you?" Carlos said after a while.  
"I'm good," Cecil smiled, "how are you?"  
"Really good," Carlos replied, shifting slightly closer to Cecil, "I just... can't believe we're here," he smiled, "Nils kept saying for me to tell you how I felt, but..." he trailed off.  
"Earl was doing the same thing," Cecil laughed slightly, "do you reckon they'e been talking about us behind our backs?"  
"Probably," Carlos smiled. 

The sky was getting darker, Cecil realised. The clouds were shifting from pink and orange to darker purples and blues. He laid down gently, staring up at the clouds. A few seconds later he felt Carlos flop down onto his back as well. Cecil rolled over onto his side, watching Carlos carefully.  
"What?" Carlos laughed, "is there something on my face?"  
"No, I just, never fully noticed this before," Cecil said, reaching up slowly and gently touching the grey streaks of hair near Carlos's temples.  
"Oh, you like it?" Carlos smiled, "I've been meaning to get all this cut," he sighed, running his hand through his hair.  
"No, don't" Cecil protested, "it's cute," Carlos smiled.  
"Yeah?" Carlos laughed, "well, you're cute too," he smiled.  
"Thanks," Cecil blushed, propping himself up on one elbow.

In a moment of bravery, Carlos leaned forward to kiss Cecil.  
"Woah," Cecil smiled as Carlos pulled back after a second.  
"Sorry," Carlos blushed, "that was too fast, wasn't it?  
"It's fine," Cecil murmured, "really,"  
"Good," Carlos beamed, before sitting up and grabbing a bag. "Here, food," he said, throwing something in Cecil's direction.  
"Thanks," Cecil smiled.  
********  
The sun set quickly, and the clouds cleared completely, showing all of the stars above.  
"Do you know much about stars?" Cecil asked.  
"Not really," Carlos replied, "I know a bit about constellations, but not much else,"  
"It's weird, the sky," Cecil mumbled, "mostly void, partially stars, and all that. What do you think's out there?"  
"Got to be life somewhere out there," Carlos mused, "all that room, Earth can't be the only planet that supports life,  
"Yeah," Cecil agreed, "the stars are so pretty, but so freaky if you think about. Just huge balls of fire, millions of miles away,"  
"Yeah, well there's one star that's super close," Carlos said with a smirk.  
"Oh yeah?" Cecil said. sitting upright.  
"Yeah, you," Carlos murmured. Cecil blushed slightly, before leaning in to kiss Carlos. "Thank you," Carlos mumbled as they puled away.  
"For what?" Cecil asked.  
"For being such a great person," Carlos smiled.  
"I could say the exact same thing," Cecil said.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> something messed up whilst I was typing this and a bunch of paragraphs copied in twice so if anything is out place or repeated I'm really sorry :)

Later that night, Carlos insisted on driving Cecil all the way back to his apartment. They'd had a few drinks but somehow it had affected Cecil a lot more. As they settled into the car, Carlos turned up the radio, and Cecil began to sing along softly.  
"You're even an amazing singer," Carlos laughed, "you're perfect in every way," Cecil blushed but said nothing. After a while, they pulled up outside Cecil's apartment. "Come on," Carlos smiled, "I'll take you inside," Cecil pulled out his key and let them into the building. Together they wandered up the stairs and along hallways.

"Cece, we're here now," Carlos smiled, stopping outside Cecil's door.  
"Thank you," Cecil smiled, and lent in to kiss him. A few moments later, they pulled apart and Cecil pulled out his keys. "Come in?" he asked.  
"I should probably go," Carlos smiled, even though it wasn't that late, "I don't wanna disrupt Earl,"  
"It's fine, come in," Cecil argued and pulled him into the apartment. "Heya Early!" Cecil called into the apartment, "Carlos is here," Earl popped his head out of the kitchen and waved.  
"Hey you guys how was the date?" Earl asked.  
"Wonderful," Carlos smiled.  
"It was great," Cecil added.  
"I am leaving in a second by the way," Carlos told him, "just making sure Cecil got back. I've got his car keys so I'll bring it over to you in the morning,"  
"That's good of you," Earl smiled, "thanks for making him so ahppy," he said, shaking Cecl's hsouldere gently, "Cece, I think Carlos needs to go,"  
"Yeah, see you soon," Cecil smiled, turning around to kiss Carlos. Earl jokingly rolled his eyes.

*******  
The next morning, Cecil was still buzzing with excitement from the previous nights.

Carlos_the_Scientist: morning xx  
CecilGPalmer: hi! last night was fun Xxx  
Carlos_the_Scientist: yeah, you up for it again sometime???  
CecilGPalmer: yes yes yes! I can't wait   
Carlos_the_Scientist: awesome!! What you doing now??  
CecilGPalmer: about to film a video :)  
Carlos_the_Scientist: enjoy!! x

Cecil smiled, dropping his phone down onto his bed and then switching his camera on.  
"Hey everybody! Welcome back to a new video! I look a bit of a state because I'm filming this really early in the morning and I haven't bothered with much makeup, but I'm just going to answer some questions you guys have sent in. It's been a while since we filmed a video like this!" Cecil stopped and pulled out the list of questions on his phone. "Okay, a lot of people keep asking about my sexuality, even though I've answered this loads before. I'm gay, pretty sure I've said that a lot, but anyway, yeah, that's it basically. Also, someone asked: how's life? This is a nice question! I'm good, really good," he smiled.

About an hour later, Cecil had finished filming all of the footage for his video. He uploaded all of the footage, and then lugged his laptop into the kitchen. Earl was busy testing out some new recipes for his channel.  
"Ooh, cookies," Cecil smiled, looking down at a plate on the side.  
"Try one," Earl smiled, and Cecil did so eagerly.  
"These are amazing," Cecil stated after just one bite, "use this recipe for your channel,"  
"Will do," Earl laughed. Cecil smiled, and then opened up his laptop and began to edit his footage together.  
"Do you reckon I can edit this quickly enough to post it tonight?" Cecil wondered out loud.  
"With enough cookies to help you along," Earl laughed. "So, what did you even do last night? You were too tired to talk properly yesterday,"  
"OH, Carlos took me to this tiny, wonderful beach and we just watched the stars and stuff," Cecil smiled, whilst distractedly cropping videos.  
"Yeah, you seemed pretty close last night," Earl teased him, waggling his eyes slightly. Cecil groaned and dropped his head forward.  
"Sorry, got a bit carried away, didn't we?" laughed Cecil.  
"Nah, it was awesome to see you happy," Earl smiled. Cecil smiled back, before sneaking forward and stealing another cookie.  
********  
Later that night, Cecil finally relaxed as he finished editing the video and posted it.  
"I've never edited a video so fast," Cecil laughed from where he was curled up in a tiny ball in one sofa, peering at his laptop screen.  
"Yeah, you did good," Earl told him, stretched out on the other sofa. After around ten minutes, comments began to pop up.  
"Uh oh," Cecil laughed softly, "People are saying I look a lot happier, they're catching onto us,"  
"When are you gonna tell your audiences?" Earl asked.  
"We have to wait a bit, just get used to it all first," Cecil explained. Earl nodded in understanding


	26. Chapter 26

"Heya," Cecil smiled, rolling over onto his back. It was the next morning, and he was facetiming Carlos again.  
"Hi," Carlos called. He had his back to the camera, fiddling with something at his desk. A few seconds later, he spun around and flopped down his bed nearer to the camera. "Sorry, just getting something for a video later,"  
"That's okay," Cecil told him. At that moment, his cat hopped up onto the bed and padded over to him. "Hey Khoshekh," he murmured to the cat, stroking his head.  
"Aw, he's so sweet," Carlos laughed. Cecil scooped up the cat and held him closer to the phone.  
"Say hello to Carlos," Cecil told the cat, who meowed impatiently, wiggling out of Cecil's arms and padding away. Carlos laughed as they watched him go.  
"So, you want to go out again soon?" Carlos asked.  
"Yes!" Cecil smiled, leaning forwards and beaming happily.  
"I think it's your turn to plan it," Carlos reminded him.  
"Ooh, I'll have to think of something extra special," Cecil laughed.

"Cecil!" called a voice, and there came a knock at his bedroom door.  
"Come in," Cecil replied, and Earl walked in.  
"Try this," Earl told him, handing Cecil a cake. He took it hesitantly. "Hey Carlos," Earl waved to the scientist whilst Cecil tried the cake.  
"Heya," Carlos replied, "what are you feeding him?"  
"Just a new cake recipe, nothing bad," Earl laughed.  
"Good," Carlos laughed, "I'd be annoyed if you'd poisoned my boyfriend,"  
"This is really good!" Cecil decided, "you need to make more of these," he told Earl, "Carlos, you have to try these!" he added.  
"I hope I can one day," Carlos laughed.  
"Oh, all four of us need to do a backing video together!" Earl smiled, before walking away, waving as he went.

"I wish I was over there with you right now," Carlos sighed eventually, "I just want to be with you all the time," he said, laughing and blushing.  
"I can come over to you if you want," Cecil smiled.  
"Really?" Carlos asked, his eyes lighting up slightly.  
"Yeah, I don't have any shifts today, so I can be over in a few hours," Cecil told him.  
"Alright, I'll see you later," Carlos smiled.  
********  
 _ **The four weirdos**_  
 **CecilGPalmer: I'm on my way :)**  
 **Carlos_the_Scientist: Yay!!**  
 **NilanjanaS: urgh I'm so glad I'm going out! Joking, I love you guys ;)**  
 **CecilGPalmer: awww thanks Nils**  
 **EarlBakes: you're all lucky, I've got work to do today**  
 **NilanjanaS: aw poor Earl**  
 **Carlos_the_Scientist: we all need to go out together soon and film stuff**  
 **EarlBakes: yeah, awesome**  
**********  
Cecil knocked on the door, and waited. Inside, he could hear rushed footsteps inside. Seconds later, the door swung open.  
"Heya," Carlos smiled, stepping forward and kissing Cecil before he even had a chance to reply.  
"Hi," Cecil murmured as they moved apart.  
"Come in," Carlos said. Cecil followed him inside slightly nervously.  
"Your apartment is awesome," Cecil told him, peering at the brightly coloured walls and nice decorations.  
"Nils is in charge of the decorating," Carlos laughed.  
"What about me?" Nilanjana asked, stepping out of the kitchen.  
"Nothing," Carlos laughed, "are you going out already?"  
"Yeah, I'm going," she said, "see you guys later," she smiled, before pacing out of the apartment.  
"Where's she off too?" Cecil asked.  
"Too meet some friends," Carlos replied.

"Thanks for coming over," Carlos smiled as they sat down on his sofa.  
"It's no problem," Cecil replied.  
"I've been thinking," Carlos said with a smile, "that we should all meet up tomorrow and film the whole thing,"  
"Yes," Cecil smiled, "but let's enjoy our time alone for the minute," he laughed, leaning forward to kiss Carlos.


	27. Chapter 27

"Hello everybody!" Cecil called into the camera. It was the next day, and they were all out shopping together. The others all cried hello and waved. "Today we are filming a vlog for my channel, and we'll be filming other stuff for the others' channels as well. But first, we're just going to do some shopping and stuff!"

They wandered in and out of shops, mucking around.  
"Hey, watch this," Nilanjana smirked, nodding at the camera, before sneaking up on Carlos, who was looking at shirts. She jumped up at the last moment, grabbing his shoulders and letting out an awful shrieking noise. Carlos jumped in shock, dropping a bunch of things.  
"What was that for?" Carlos cried, but he was laughing hysterically as well.  
"You get scared so easily," Nilanjana teased him.  
"Well maybe if you weren't pretending you were some sort of demon in the shops, I wouldn't be so scared!" Carlos laughed.  
"I'm so glad I don't have to live with her," Earl laughed.  
*********  
The video was released two days later, along with other videos they'd made together. Cecil put it up in the morning, after editing the video for hours on end. Straight afterwards, he rushed out to work. When he came home, the first thing he saw was a worried looking Earl.  
"Cecil, I think you've made a mistake," Earl said slowly.  
"With what?" Cecil asked, his heart already beating rapidly with fear.  
"That video you posted," Earl sighed, "just, check the comments," Cecil grabbed his phone instantly, and pulled up the comments.  
"No, oh no!" he cried as he quickly realised what had happened. Because, halfway through the video, in a part where Nils and Earl were talking to the camera, Carlos and Cecil could be seen quite clearly in the background kissing. "I've got to call Carlos," he said.

"Carlos!" he screamed the moment the phone was answered. "The video, I..."  
"I know," Carlos cut him off, "it's okay, Cece. It wasn't your fault,"  
"What do we do?" Cecil asked him, "Are we ready to tell people,"  
"We'll tell them," Carlos decided, "It'll be okay, I promise,"  
"Okay," Cecil said.  
"I'm going to come over and we can film a video explaining, okay?" Carlos said.  
"Alright," Cecil sighed, "see you soon,"

Carlos turned up soon after, and he disappeared straight into Cecil's bedroom.  
"Hey, it's gonna be okay," Carlos said, sitting down next to Cecil, who was laying on his bed, looking terrified.  
"I know, but.. what if we tell them but then something happens between us and we look like idiots?" Cecil sighed.  
"Bad things happen sometimes," Carlos said with a shrug, "they'll understand that. But I'm hoping this will work out well between us," he said, grabbing Cecil's hand and helping him to sit up. "I guess we've got a video to film,"

"Hey guys," Cecil said with a small smile, "this is going up on both of our channels because it's important I guess,"  
"If any of you saw the vlog that recently went up on Cecil's channel, you might have noticed a certain scene that everyone is talking about," Carlos explained, "and a lot of people have been asking what's going on between us, so we thought you all deserved the truth," he look at Cecil, who nodded for him to say it, "we are dating," Carlos admitted.  
"Yeah," Cecil added with a nod, "and it's not that we didn't want you to know, we just wanted to let things settle first,"  
"We've barely been dating for a week," Carlos laughed.  
"So, yeah, this is us giving you the truth," Cecil smiled, "and we hope you'll be happy for us,"


	28. Chapter 28

The next morning, Carlos arrived early to surprise Cecil.  
"Heya," Carlos smiled as Earl answered the door, "is Cecil in?"  
"Yeah, he's in his room," Earl said, stepping aside to let him in, "hey, the comments on the video are really positive, aren't they?" Earl said happily.  
"Yeah, it's good," Carlos smiled, "really good," He headed towards Cecil's bedroom, pushing the door open, and was shocked to see Cecil casually strumming a guitar.

"Cece?" he called curiously. Cecil looked up, eyes wide with shock.  
"Carlos! What are you doing here? Our date isn't until tomorrow?" Cecil cried, pushing the guitar aside.  
"Well, everyone responded to our video so well that I thought we should celebrate!" Carlos told him, sitting down next to him. "I didn't know you could play guitar," he said.  
"Uh, yeah, I'm not very good though," Cecil mumbled, as if he wanted to change the subject.  
"Show me?" Carlos asked, "I won't judge you, I promise," Cecil thought for a second, before picking up the guitar with a small smile.

He began to play the guitar quietly, as if he didn't really want it to be heard.  
"It's good," Carlos said, gently encouraging him. Cecil smiled, playing more and eventually beginning to sing.

"We don't believe what's on TV  
Because it's what we want to see  
And what we want we know we can't believe  
We have all learned to kill our dreams" he sung softly, before trailing off in embarrassment.

"You're really good," Carlos said as Cecil pushed the guitar away.  
"Thanks," Cecil smiled, laughing softly. Carlos pulled him closer and kissed him.  
"So, I have an idea," Carlos said as they pulled apart.  
"Oh yeah?" Cecil smiled.  
"Come on," Carlos said, standing up and grabbing Cecil's hand, "It's a surprise! Ooh, and bring your guitar!"  
*******  
 _ **The Coffee Chat**_  
 **CecilGPalmer: sorry Pamela, I'm not going to make i to my shift today**  
 **PamelaW: why???**  
 **CecilGPalmer: umm. I have a thing with Carlos**  
 **Maureen123: aww you two are so cute**  
 **PamelaW: Cecil!! You can't take days off to go on dates!!**  
 **DanaC_X: I'll do his shift for today**  
 **PamelaW: fine, but next time Cecil give me more warning!!!**  
 **CecilGPalmer: alright, sorry :)**

"Everything okay?" Carlos asked. He was driving the car, with Cecil in the passenger seat.  
"Yeah, just realised I'm supposed to be at work in half an hour," he laughed.  
"Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't even ask!" Carlos apologised.  
"It's fine, I'd rather be with you," Cecil smiled.  
"You know, you should post some song covers on your channel," Carlos said, "you're amazing at singing,"  
"I want to, I've must never been brave enough too," Cecil admitted.  
"Well, maybe you can film one later," Carlos smiled.  
"Is that why you got be to bring the guitar?" Cecil asked.  
"No, I just thought it'd be cute," Carlos replied, "we're here," he said eventually. Cecil peered out of the window, and saw that they were in a tiny parking lot in what appeared to be a forest. "I come here a lot, I think it's so peaceful," Carlos smiled.

They headed into the forest. Cecil brought his guitar with him, after Carlos persuaded him to.  
"I was just gonna suggest we go for a walk, but maybe we could find somewhere to sit and you can film you singing," Carlos suggested.  
"Okay," Cecil decided after a while. They walked on further, and Carlos pointed out an area amongst some trees, with a little stream running through it. Carlos set the camera up, and they sat down at the side of the stream.

"Do you mind if I'm in the background?" Carlos asked.  
"I want you there," Cecil said, "something about you makes me more confident,"   
"Alright, I'm here," Carlos smiled, "don't worry if you don't feel confident enough to film anything today,"  
"I can do this," Cecil said with a nod to himself, "but, what song?" he murmured.  
"What about that one from earlier?" Carlos suggested, "that was nice,"  
"Okay," Cecil replied, "let's do this,"

As Cecil sang, Carlos sat watching. He was aware the whole time that the camera was recording his reactions, but he couldn't help simply staring and listening intently. Half way through, rain suddenly began to pour, but neither of them seemed to even notice. Once Cecil had finished, the two sat in silence for a second, neither of them knowing what to do. Carlos smiled at him, and pulled him in to a kiss, not even caring that the camera was recording.  
"You can help me edit that out," Cecil laughed, leaning his forehead against Carlos's.  
"I will," Carlos promised him, "When did it start raining?"  
"No idea," Cecil laughed.  
"Back to the car?" Carlos suggested.  
"I think so," Cecil said, grabbing the camera and turning it off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was listening to a playlist of songs with rain edited over the back of them whilst I wrote this which is where this random idea came from!


	29. Chapter 29

Earl clicked onto Cecil's new video with a smile. Earl was mostly surprised by the fact that Cecil had managed to film, edit and post a video all within twenty-four hours. The video had only been posted that morning, and yet there were so many positive comments already.

One comment read: ahh, you're such a good singer!! Why have you never done this before?  
Another said: Awww, look at Carlos, he's so cute!

Earl laughed fondly looking through them. Slamming his laptop shut, he sighed, realising he needed to leave for work, and left his apartment, calling out to Cecil as he did. Moments later, Cecil wandered out of his room, tiredly running one hand through his air. Noticing a text from Carlos, he quickly typed a reply.

**Carlos_the_Scientist: heya, you're video's getting a lot of likes! Told you you were awesome!! xxx**   
**CecilGPalmer: you're always right! :)**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: I just know you too well**   
**CecilGPalmer: yeah i guess you do xx**   
**CecilGPalmer: by the way, thanks for helping me be more confident**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: it's no problem! So, got plans for our date tonight?**   
**CecilGPalmer: Yep, it's a surprise!!**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: ok, see you soon xx**

Cecil smiled, putting his phone away. He had a plan for tonight, but it required a lot of planning. A thought came to him, and he pulled pout hs phone again to text Nilanjana.

**CecilGPalmer: Nils!! I need help!!**   
**NilanjanaS: what's up??**   
**CecilGPalmer: I need Carlos wearing formal clothes for tonight's date, but how do I tell him without somehow spoiling the surprise**   
**NilanjanaS: okay, I can help.... what have you got planned??**   
**CecilGPalmer: no offence, but you're an awful secret keeper, telling you would probably be a mistake**   
**NilanjanaS: I won't tell him! I promise!**   
**CecilGPalmer: fine, I have a posh restaurant booked**   
**NilanjanaS: wow lucky Carlos, I wish you were my boyfriend...**   
**CecilGPalmer: Nils!!**   
**NilanjanaS: I'm joking, I'm joking**   
**CecilGPalmer: I know, now, can you please help me**   
**NilanjanaS: alright, I'll sort it out**   
**CecilGPalmer: thanks!**

 

Cecil checked the clock quickly. He had a few hours until he was meeting Carlos. Opening his laptop, he started a livestream, and quickly sent out a link on his twitter.

"Hey you guys," he said once a few people had joined, "I'm just bored waiting around for a while so I thought I'd just have a chat to you all for a bit," Almost immediately he saw a few comments asking for him to sing. Rolling his eyes, he laughed softly, "is this going to end up turning into a singing channel?" he laughed, "I guess I could sing something," he murmured, searching around for his guitar and finding it, "okay, what can I sing?" he mumbled to himself, thinking of his favourite songs, "okay," he said eventually, then he started to sing The Scientist by Coldplay.

As he finished singing, he noticed a comment.

**Carlos_the_Scientist: so cute xxx**

"Oh, hey Carlos I didn't know you were watching," he said, waving to the camera but blushing slightly as he did it.

**Carlos_the_Scientist: :)**

"Right, well, I am going to be going soon," Cecil said, "but for now, send in questions and stuff I guess," He laughed as he began to answer some.

********

Later, Cecil was ready to leave his house and meet Carlos.

CecilGPalmer: going to leave my house soon, will be with you in a bit xx

Carlos_the_Scientist: see you soon xx is there any reason why I'm wearing a suit?? Nils says it's important

CecilGPalmer: you'll see ;)

Carlos_the_Scientist: ok xx 

 

Cecil headed out of the apartment, and climbed into his car. Loading up one of his music playlist, he was ready to go.


	30. Chapter 30

When he reached Carlos's street, the man was already standing outside, waiting.  
"Hey!" Cecil called, leaning out of his window. Carlos smiled as he recognised him, and dashed over to jump in the car. "You look really good," Cecil told him, looking at Carlos's suit.  
"So do you," Carlos smiled, "this is fancy," he added, pointing towards Cecil's purple tie.  
"You think so?" Cecil asked, "well, I should hope so,"  
"Where are we going?" Carlos asked.  
"You'll see," Cecil teased him.  
"This is an awesome music playlist by the way," Carlos said with a smile.

Cecil pulled up outside of the restaurant, and Carlos stared out in shock.  
"Did you really book this place?" Carlos asked.  
"I sure did!" Cecil said with a smile.  
"You're amazing!" Carlos screamed, practically throwing himself across the car to hug Cecil.  
"Thanks," Cecil smiled. "Come on then," he said with a smile, and they wandered into the restaurant.

As they walked inside, Carlos looked completely overwhelmed.  
"I can't believe it," he kept saying, "this is amazing Cecil," Cecil smiled at him.  
"Hi, we have a reservation," Cecil said to the woman at the desk, who was looking at them curiously.  
"Name?" she asked.  
"Cecil Palmer," he told her, "should be a table for two,"  
"Yes, right this way," she smiled, heading to the other side of the restaurant. Cecil grabbed Carlos's hand and led the way.  
********  
Later, once they'd eaten, they stepped out of the restaurant and found that it was raining lightly.  
"That was awesome," Carlos said with a smile, grabbing Cecil's hand.  
"Yeah, it really was," Cecil smiled. "Come on, let's get out of the rain," he said, and they climbed into the car. They sat in silence for a while, listening to the sound of the rain drumming softly on the roof and windows. Eventually, Cecil turned on some music, and they sat listening to it.  
"Hey, Cece," Carlos said eventually.  
"Yeah," Cecil said.  
"You wanna stay round mine tonight instead of driving all the way back?" Carlos suggested.  
"Yeah, that would be awesome," Cecil smiled. He turned the key, and the car engine came to life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm writing about the rain a lot, but lately I've picked up this really strange love for the rain and it just calms me down, so I keep putting it into fics without thinking about it.


	31. Chapter 31

Cecil woke up the next morning next to Carlos.  
"Morning," Carlos said softly.  
"Heya," Cecil smiled, rolling over to face him. "Uh, I've got work in a few hours," he sighed.  
"You'd better start getting ready, then," Carlos told him.  
"Yeah, I suppose," Cecil said, sitting up.  
"Hey, we have that con in a week," Carlos reminded him as they wandered into the kitchen to get breakfast.  
"Oh yeah," Cecil smiled, "that'll be fun!"  
**********  
"Tell me all about it!" Earl screamed the second Cecil stepped back into their apartment.  
"Earl, I have work in half an hour," Cecil said with a yawn.  
"Fine, tell me when you get back," he sighed.  
"I will," Cecil promised, "now I've got to get ready,"

He left twenty minutes later, stressed out and rushing. He reached the cafe quickly, and was instantly by the sight of Maureen shouting at two teenage boys.  
"Get out!" she was pretty much screamed, "I've told you to leave!"  
"What's going on?" Cecil asked, striding towards them quickly.  
"They've been here, causing chaos and being rude to all the other customers!" Maureen shouted.  
"It's just because we're teenagers, she thinks we're trouble," one of the boys protested.  
"Okay, well do you intend to buy anything?" Cecil asked calmly.  
"Nah, this place is rubbish," the other boy said.  
"Then we'll politely ask you to leave one more time, before I have to call my manager." Cecil said, "and trust me, you don't want to annoy her,"  
"Fine, we're going," sighed one of the boys, and the two stormed out.  
"Thanks," Maureen sighed, before turning to the others in the cafe, "Sorry about that!" she shouted to them, before heading back behind the counter.

"So, I see you've taken some more time off," Maureen said, nodding towards the calendar on the wall.  
"Yeah, another convention," Cecil explained.  
"Right," she said with a nod, before heading off to clean up a table. Yawning, Cecil pulled out his phone to check his messages.

_ **The four weirdos** _   
_**NilanjanaS change the group name to: Carlos is an idiot** _   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: Nils!!!**   
**CecilGPalmer: what's all this about**   
**NilanjanaS: well, you see, Carlos is an idiot**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: shut up!!!**   
**EarlBakes: what is going on???**   
**NilanjanaS: he just dropped a glass and managed to cut his hand in the process**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: thanks for telling them that**   
**CecilGPalmer: are you okay??**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: yeah I'm good xxx Nils, please change the name back**   
**NilanjanaS: fineeeee**   
_**NilanjanaS changed the group name to: Youtube Pals** _

**EarlBakes: lame**

**NilanjanaS: sorry, did I ask for your opinion????**

**Carlos_the_Scientist: that is quite bad Nils**

**NilanjanaS: do you have any better ideas???  
Calros_the_Scientist: nope**

**NilanjanaS: then be quiet.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short chapter because I've just started working on a really long, more detailed fic and I've also got a load of others on the go at the moment!


	32. Chapter 32

It was the night before the convention, and they were all staying at Cecil and Earl's apartment. Bags were piled in the hallway, ready to be taken out to the cars in the morning, and they were all squashed into the living room, watching movies and eating pizza.   
"I can't believe the convention is a week long!" Nilanjana smiled excitedly.  
"It's going to be awesome!" Earl added. They'd managed to book a hotel for the four of them all to share together, and the hotel wasn't too far away from the apartment, so they could leave quite late in the morning. Earl was feeling particularly pleased with how well everything was planned.

Carlos dropped his head onto Cecil's shoulder, yawning loudly.  
"Aw, are you tired," Cecil teased him.  
"Shut up," Carlos told him, weakly punching his arm.  
"You two are so sweet that it makes me feel sick," Nilanjana piped up.  
"Thank you," Cecil smiled, rolling his eyes.  
"We really should get some sleep in a bit," Earl decided eventually.  
"Yeah, you're probably right," Cecil sighed, "I'm gonna go and get this off," he added, gesturing at his smudged eye shadow.

Cecil wandered to the bathroom, pushing open the door and sitting down on the edge of the bathtub. Grabbing his makeup remover, he began to wipe away his makeup. The door swung open, and Carlos wandered in.  
"Hey, you okay?" Cecil asked, looking up at him.  
"Yeah, I just like watching you do makeup stuff," Carlos admitted sheepishly, smiling slightly.  
"You should let me do your makeup some day," Cecil smiled.  
"Yeah, sure," Carlos agreed, sitting down next to him and leaning on him slightly. Cecil kissed the top of his forehead softly, and then finished up removing his makeup.

Later, Earl disappeared into his bedroom, yawning and mumbling something about getting enough sleep.  
"Are you sure you're good sleeping on the sofa?" Cecil asked Nilanjana.  
"Yeah, it's fine!" she replied, "I can sleep literally anywhere,"  
"It's true," Carlos confirmed, "sometimes she sleeps in the bathtub just for fun,"  
"You are a complete weirdo, Nils,"" Cecil told her. She grinned happily, before grabbing a few blankets and diving onto the couch. "Alright, see you in the morning!" he called as him and Carlos trailed off to Cecil's room.

Cecil climbed straight into his bed, burrowing under the covers. Carlos laughed fondly as he flopped down next to Cecil. Immediately, Cecil rolled over and buried his head in Carlos's chest, yawning loudly.  
"Night," Cecil mumbled, wrapping his arms around Carlos's waist.  
"Night," Carlos echoed him, kissing the top of his head and burying his face in Cecil's hair.  
*******************  
The next morning, Cecil woke up early, and found that Carlos had rolled away in the night, and was curled up on the other side of the bed. He blinked slowly, the light filtering through the cracks in the curtains was too bright for his eyes straight after waking up. Eventually, he sat up, pushing off the covers, and hopping out of bed. Behind him, he heard Carlos roll over. Seeing that Carlos was still asleep, he stepped out of the room, and headed for the bathroom, armed with his makeup bag. On the way, he bumped into Earl, who was stumbling sleepily out of his room.  
"Morning," Earl smiled.  
"Heya," Cecil replied.  
"Are you all packed?" Earl checked.  
"Yeah, yeah, it's all done," Cecil assured him, "just doing my makeup and then I'll pack it,"  
"Good, I'm going to get food ready," Earl smiled, already walking away, "Bye!" he called over his shoulder as he went.

Earl wandered into the kitchen, pulling out a few things to make breakfast. Moments later, Nils walked in.  
"I can smell food," she stated, "Want any help?" she added, hopping up onto the side.  
"Yeah," Earl said, handing her a pan of food, "make sure that doesn't burn,"  
"Got it!" she nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After these few convention chapters, I think I'm going to start bringing this fic to an end. I'm working on a lot of longer, more detailed fics at the moment, and I'm slowly running out of both ideas and time for writing this fic. Anyway, thanks for reading!!


	33. Chapter 33

A while later, Cecil and Carlos wandered in.  
"Food's ready," Earl said, pushing plates of food towards then. Nilanjana grabbed a plate and dashed away.  
"Well, someone's hungry," Carlos laughed, picking up his own plate, "Thanks Earl,"  
"No problem. Nils helped cook actually," Earl replied.  
"That's concerning," Cecil said with a laugh.

"Thank you very much!" Nilanjana shouted from the next room.  
"How on earth did she here that?" Cecil mumbled to himself in wonder.  
*************************  
An hour later, they needed to leave.  
"Come on, let's get to the car!" Earl hurried them along as they attempted to carry all of the bags out the bags in one go.  
"I'm going as fast as I can!" Nilanjana shouted, before letting out a small squeal. As she did so, they heard a clattering, and watched as one of her bags feel down the stairs and tumbled to the bottom.  
"Well, that sure did the job quickly," Cecil laughed. "There was nothing fragile in there, right?"  
"Nope, it's good!" Nilanjana replied, already chasing after it, dragging her bags behind her. Earl sighed. It was going to be one very long week.

They eventually made it to Earl's car, and loaded everything in. Earl got into the driver's seat, with Nils in the passenger seat, leaning Cecil and Carlos in the back with a few of the bags.  
"Right, this is a long journey so can we all try to not annoy each other?" Earl asked as the car engine rumbled to life.  
"Wow, you sound exactly like my mother," Nils laughed. "But yes, we promise!"  
"Good," Earl smiled, "let's go!" He pulled out of the road, and handed his phone to Nilanjana. "You're sitting in the front with me, so you have to read the directions,"  
"So basically we're never going to ge thtere," Carlos laughed.  
"Carlos!" Nilanjana cried, pretending to be upset, "I can't believe you don't trust me!"  
"Just focus on the instructions!" Earl sighed.

Nilanjana reached over and pressed a few buttons, turning on the radio and flicking through the stations until she found one she liked.  
"Ooh, I love this song!" Cecil cried, "Turn it up!" Nilanjana did what he said, and she began to sing along loudly. Cecil joined in seconds later, and even Earl joined in, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "Do you not know this one?" Cecil whispered to Carlos.  
"I know it," Carlos said.  
"Then sing, silly!" he smiled, nudging him gently. "None of us are going to judge you!"  
"I might a little bit, but he's used to that," Nilanjana piped up from the front. Carlos rolled his eyes at her, and then began to sing quietly. As the others started to sing again, Carlos got slightly louder. By the time the next song had started, they were all hanging out of the windows and screaming song lyrics into the wind.

After two hours of driving, Earl pulled over to get food and drinks. They stumbled out of the car, laughing and giggling amongst themselves. They headed into a small store, with Nils bouncing excitedly ahead of them. As Earl walked quickly after her, Cecil and Carlos hung back, walking slowly side by side. Cecil grabbed Carlos's hand, looking up at him with a small smile on his face. Carlos kissed Cecil on the cheek quickly, and then dragged Cecil forward to catch up with the others. They wandered into the store a few moments after the others, and found Nils buying way too much candy.  
"Please don't eat all of that in one go," Carlos begged her.  
"Fine," she smiled. 

Carlos and Cecil headed further into the store in an attempt to find Earl. They passed two women, who happened to glance at them, just as Cecil grabbed Carlos's hand again. One woman stared at them for a second, rolled her eyes and then turned to whisper to her friend, who burst out laughing. Carlos immediately froze, anger flashing across his face.  
"Just ignore it," Cecil said quietly, squeezing his hand tightly. Carlos nodded, and they carried on walking. They found Earl at the back of the store, getting drinks.  
"Hey guys!" Earl smiled, "Want to get anything?"  
"Uh, yeah we're going to get some drinks," Cecil said, "I've already got food in the car,"  
"Okay, I'm going to pay," Earl said, wandering away.  
"You okay?" Cecil asked Carlos, who was really quiet.  
"Yeah just... people annoy me," Carlos sighed.  
"Yeah, I get it," Cecil smiled, wrapping one arm around Carlos's waist and pulling him closer.

Once they'd gathered everything they needed, they headed to pay, just as Nils and Earl left the store. They stepped into the queue, and Cecil dropped the basket of stuff with a tired sigh.  
"We'll be there soon," Carlos told him.  
"Good, I hate long car journeys!" Cecil sighed, dropping his head forward onto Carlos's chest dramatically.  
"I know, it's so boring," Carlos agreed. The people who were paying in front of them moved away, and they realised it was the women from earlier. As they started to whisper again, Carlos immediately fell silent and turned away. Cecil grabbed Carlos's hand and marched forward, glaring at them as he did. "Have you got a problem?" he demanded.  
"Oh no," one of the women stammered, "We just thought you guys were a bit of a strange couple and.."  
"Well would you mind not pointing and laughing?" Cecil glared, "We're human too. We're not just here to provide entertainment for you!"  
"Sorry," one of them said, and then they both wandered away.  
"Sorry about that," Cecil said to the man behind the counter with a smile.  
"No problem," the man smiled back.  
"I didn't know you were even capable of getting that angry"!" Carlos mumbled in amazement, "You're always so calm!"  
**********  
"You guys were ages!" Nilanjana told them as they eventually made it back to the car.  
"Yeah sorry about that," Cecil sighed, dropping into his seat dramatically and pulling the door shut behind him, "Some people were not being polite!"  
"Let's just focus on the con now," Carlos told him.  
"Yeah, that's a good idea," Cecil smiled.  
"Okay, let's get going!" Earl said.  
"I've got an even better idea!" Nils added as they began to drive again. She pulled out her camera and set it at the front of the car. "Karaoke!"  
"Yes!" Cecil cried, "Turn the music up!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've just finished writing an entire road trip fanfic, so I had to write a chapter or two of driving fun as I've missed writing about it!!!


	34. Chapter 34

It took them another two hours to reach the hotel that the convention was taking place in. Once again deciding that it would be a good idea to carry all of the bags at once, they stumbled into the hotel. Nilanjana swore loudly as half of her bags fell to the floor, and dropped to the ground.  
"Nils!" Carlos sighed, helping her scoop it all back up. With all of them struggling to help each other, they managed to reach their room.  
"Wow, this place is nice," Earl smiled. The room was huge, with two single beds and a double bed.  
"It's awesome!" Nils cried, running in and immediately let all of her bags fall to the floor in a huge pile.  
"Okay, you are not leaving this room in such a state," Earl told her.  
"Oh yeah," Cecil laughed, "He'll kill you if you make too much mess!"  
"Why was I not told this before we all agreed to share a room?" Nilanjana cried.  
"Too late now!" Cecil told her, "Just kick all your stuff under your bed so he won't notice," he added.  
"Good plan," Nils smiled, launching herself at her bags. Earl sat down on his bed, dropped his head into his hands and side.  
"It's going to be a long week, isn't it?" he laughed.  
"Yes," Carlos laughed, "It really will be,"

The con didn't start officially until later in the evening, so eventually, once the bags were unpacked, they all headed to a restaurant down the road.  
"This is going to be so fun!" Nils practically screamed as she skipped in front of them.  
"Why has Nils turned into a toddler?" Cecil whispered to Carlos.  
"Remember all the candy she bought on the way?" Carlos asked, "I think she's already eaten it all,"  
"Oh no," Cecil laughed.  
"This convention may be about to get very interesting!" Carlos told him.  
*********  
Nils managed to stay calm enough as they got into the restaurant, but the moment they were sat down, she started to fidget relentlessly.  
"Someone get her some water," Earl sighed.  
"I'm on it," Carlos said, already standing up and heading across the restaurant.  
"I'm fine!" Nilanjana shouted, and then clamped her hand across her mouth, "Wow I'm loud," she mumbled.  
"Yes, you are," Cecil agreed.  
"Good, I like being loud," she smiled, leaning back in her chair.  
"This is why there is such a lack of sweet stuff in my apartment," Carlos said as he sat back down, "I have to keep her away from sugar," He slid a glass of water across the table towards Nils. "Drink that," he told her. She narrowed her eyes at him, and then drank the whole thing in one go.  
"I'm not that bad," she moaned as she slammed the glass back onto the table.  
"Yes you are!" Carlos argued. "Now, can we just order some food please,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is short I know, but the next one will hopefully be really long


	35. Chapter 35

Once they'd finished dinner, they headed back towards the convention. As they walked in, instantly a group of people barrelled towards them, asking for selfies.  
"Yeah sure," Cecil laughed. They all gathered into a group (with Cecil pulling a reluctant Earl into the photo), and the fans started to take photos. Once they were done, they eventually said goodbye and they wandered away.  
"So what is even happening at this con tonight?" Nils asked as they walked away.  
"The convention centre is just open for a few hours, and then it properly starts tomorrow," Carlos replied.  
"So, can we do some filming or stuff later once we get back to the room?" Nils asked.  
"Yeah that sounds fun!" Cecil smiled, "Maybe another live stream or something,"  
"Yes!" Nilanjana smiled, jumping around.  
"Please don't let her get drunk again," Earl pleaded from the back of the group. Carlos let out a loud laugh.  
"Excuse me!" Nils cried, "I am not that bad!"  
"Whatever," Carlos laughed.  
***********  
Later, they crashed back into their hotel room and quickly set up the live stream. They all ended up sitting on the floor.  
"Ooh, wait!" Cecil cried as the stream started. Lunging sideways, he dug through his bag from earlier and brought out a pair of black metal cat ears he'd brought earlier.  
"That is definitely the worst thing you've ever brought," Earl told him.  
"Well I like them!" Cecil told him, putting them on and smiling. "Look there a people who like them in the comments already!"  
"Oh, hi!" Nilanjana smiled, waving at the camera. "We were distracted by Cecil's ridiculous ears,"  
"I think they're cute," Carlos said, "He looks like a kitten!"  
"I love kittens!" Cecil smiled, "I miss my cat," he added.  
"It hasn't even been a whole day yet!" Earl exclaimed, "I'm sure Josie's taking great care of him," Earl added.  
"Let's just answer questions," Carlos smiled, "Look, someone wants to know what Cecil's cat's called,"  
"His name's Khoshekh, you should go follow me on tumblr to see more pictures of him," Cecil smiled.  
"Don't do that," Carlos warned them, "I still regret it. No on wants to open their p;hone and see Jaws fanfiction,"  
"Excuse me!" Cecil cried, "I am a good fanfiction writer!"  
"Whatever," Carlos smiled.

"I think Cecil should do Earl's makeup," Nilanjana suggested after a while.  
"Yes!" Cecil cried, struggling to his feet and racing away.  
"What? Where are you going?" Nilanjana murmured. Seconds later, Cecil raced back holding all the makeup he had.   
"Cecil, don't!" Earl cried, but Cecil jumped forward and knocked Earl onto his back. "This is not the logical way to do this," Earl mumbled as Cecil leaned over and started to put makeup on Earl.  
"Ever time he does something weird it ends up on camera," Carlos laughed.  
"Yep, get used to it," Earl mumbled, and Cecil instantly hit him. "Ow," he hissed.   
"Okay, while that's going on, Carlos and I will answer some more questions," Nilanjana murmured, looking through the comments. "Okay, Carlos this one's for you. What's it like dating Cecil?" She asked. Immediately, Cecil turned to look at Carlos.  
"Oh, well, it's really fun!" Carlos smiled, "He's super cute and lovely and just a great person to be with!"  
"Aww, so are you!" Cecil smiled back at him.  
"Could you please focus!" Earl sighed, "You've just stabbed me in the eye with mascara,"  
"Sorry," Cecil sighed.  
"They want to know if Earl's dating anyone!" Nilanjana shouted.  
"Nope," Earl replied.  
"Poor Earl's all alone," Nilanjana added with a grin.  
"Do I have to remind you that you're single too?" Earl laughed.  
"Please don't," She replied.   
*************  
Cecil woke up the next morning before everyone else. Sitting up in bed, he looked over to Carlos, who was curled up next to him. Nilanjana and Earl were still fast asleep as well. Pulling out his phone, he flicked through to pictures from last night, and laughed as he found the pictures he'd taken of Earl. Earl looked surprisingly good in makeup, but it had become smudged quickly, and he'd ended up looking more like a clown.   
"Cecil, is that you?" mumbled a voice, and he noticed Carlos slowly sitting up.  
"Yeah," he replied, "Sorry did I wake you up?"  
"No, it's fine," Carlos smiled, resting his head on Cecil's shoulder and peering at the phone screen. "Wow, I'd forgotten how much of a mess Earl turned into last night," he added with a laugh.  
"Yeah, that was fun," Cecil said, "I'm super tired though,"  
"Well, you'd better wake yourself up," Carlos laughed, "We've got another busy day today!"

"Who is making noise this early in the morning?" Nilanjana yawned.  
"It's not even that early," Carlos told her, "And we need to get to the con soon,"   
"Just leave me behind," Nils sighed.  
"No, get up!" Came Earls' voice suddenly, making Cecil and Carlos laugh. Nilanjana let out a groan, and then rolled out of bed, hitting the ground with a loud thud.  
"Well, now you've mostly likely woken up the people in the room below," Carlos sighed.  
"Sorry people down stairs!" Nilanjana shouted, hitting the ground a few times with her hand.  
"Oh my god, stop!" Earl told her, grabbing one of her arms and pulling her up off of the ground, "Are you trying to get us kicked out?"  
"They've got no proof," Nilanjana mumbled, "Where are my bags of clothes by the way?"


	36. Chapter 36

Two days of the convention rushed by. With two more days left to go, they were already all exhausted.  
"I'm so tired," Nilanjana moaned as they wandered back into the hotel room on the third night.  
"You've said that about ten thousand times today," Earl told her.  
"I know, and I'm going to keep on saying it because it's true," she laughed, flopping down onto her bed.  
"Great, I look forward to hearing it more," Cecil sighed.  
"You are all ridiculous," Carlos told them, watching as Cecil dropped onto the bed and laid down flat on his face.  
"We're all exhausted," Nilanjana added.  
"We know!" Carlos shouted back at her, and she started cackling until she rolled off of her bed. Letting out a loud groan, she gave up on trying to stand up and simply rolled under her bed, grabbing the edge of the duvet and pulling it under with her.  
"You can stay there for the rest of the night if you want," Earl told her.  
"I will," she mumbled. Cecil grabbed a bag of candy and threw it under her bed.  
"There, that'll keep you going," Cecil told her.  
"Thanks," Nils called out.  
"I can't believe you've been living with her for years," Earl said to Carlos.  
"I can't believe it either," Carlos laughed.

After a while, Cecil put on some music, and grabbed Carlos's hand, pulling him to his feet.  
"Dance with me!" Cecil told him.  
"I can't dance," Carlos reminded him.  
"Yes you can," Cecil laughed, pulling him closer and trying to make him dance.  
"I want to dance!" Nilanjana called, rolling back out from under her bed and stumbling to her feet.  
"I thought you were tired," Carlos said.  
"I'm never too tired to dance!" she said, already spinning and jumping around in time to the music. "Earl, dance!" she told him, grabbing his arm and dragging him off of his bed.  
"No, no," he protested, "I'd rather dance with a broom than with you," he added, nodding towards the broom that had been in the bathroom when they arrived.  
"You're all so rude!" she complained, grabbing hold of Earl's hand and spinning him around.  
"Fine, I'll dance," Earl sighed.  
"Ooh, I love this song! Turn it up!" Cecil cried. Carlos laughed, wrapping his hands around Cecil's waist and puling him into a tight hug.  
"You're actually a really good dancer," Carlos told Cecil, pressing a kiss to Cecil's forehead.  
"Thank you!" Cecil smiled, spinning around again and then tripping and falling to the floor.  
*************  
Eventually, they were all exhausted, and collapsed into their beds.  
"Night," Nilanjana mumbled with her head stuffed under a pillow.  
"See you in the morning," Earl called out. Cecil and Carlos echoed him from the other side of the room, and then eventually the room fell into silence. Cecil ended up as the last one awake, and the last thing he heard was Nilanjana snoring softly. He made a mental note to tease her about it in the morning, and then he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay that entire dancing scene is pretty much just stolen from one of my other fics I wrote a while ago because I was out of ideas :)


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've just realised that I only have two or three chapters left of this fic. I've been writing this for ages and I'm finally at the end of the plan I had for it.

The last days of con raced by, until it was eventually the end.  
"This is ridiculous!" Carlos sighed as they all sat and watched Nilanjana race around, looking for the everything she had scattered around.  
"She does this every time, doesn't she?" Earl sighed, dropping backwards onto his bed. "Wow I'm not going to miss these uncomfortable beds," he added with a laugh.  
"Yes, she does this every time we go anywhere, her room in our apartment is absolutely awful!" Carlos laughed, "And you're right, these beds are awful,"  
"You make me seem a lot worse than I am," Nilanjana pointed out, expect nobody could see where her voice was coming from.  
"Where are you?" Cecil asked, and her head popped out from under Earl's bed.  
"Hi," she smiled as she crawled out, holding a pair of shoes.  
"Why were they under my bed?" Earl asked.  
"I think maybe I kicked them under there," she said with a shrug, and dumped them into her suitcase.  
"Okay you're getting a room on your own next time," Earl told her.  
"We might not ever come back to a con together again," Carlos said, and Nils pulled a sad face.  
"Well, we'll have to go on holiday together or something then," She said after a second of thought, "But, I reckon we'll go to some other cons in the future,"  
"Yeah, of course we will," Cecil told her, before glancing at the clock on his phone. "We need to be out of here in ten minutes," he said suddenly.  
"Oh no!" Nilanjana cried, racing away towards the bathroom, "I haven't even packed my makeup yet!" Carlos dropped his head into his hands in despair.

Eventually, they left the room, with Nilanjana trailing behind them sadly.  
"Back home?" she asked as they struggled into the car.  
"I think so," Earl said with a smile, "We'll drop you two to your apartment on the way,"  
"Thanks Earl," Carlos said.  
"No problem," Earl replied, "Let's get going,"

The car pulled out of the hotel parking lot, and they quickly reached the main roads. Nilanjana reached forward and turned up the radio, smiling as she recognised the song and began to sing along.  
"You know, I always wished I could be a radio host," Cecil murmured.  
"I reckon you'd have made a great host," Carlos told him, "You've got a nice voice,"  
"Thanks!" Cecil smiled, grabbing his hand. Carlos smiled back at him, and kissed him softly.  
"Well, it's been a fun convention anyway," Earl said, having to raise his voice slightly to be heard over the music that Nilanjana kept turning up.  
"Yeah, it's been really good," Carlos agreed, "It's always fun hanging out with you guys!"  
"Yeah, we make a good team," Nilanjana agreed.  
"We'd make a better team if you weren't trying to deafen me," Earl told her.  
"This is good music Earl!" she protested, "I really need to educate you about good bands!"  
"Please don't," he laughed.  
"There's no stopping me," she told him.  
"Yeah, I know," he sighed, "I don't know why I even try!"  
"You shouldn't bother anymore," Nilanjana smiled, winding down her window and sticking her head out of it like a dog. Earl rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the road.

"Can we stop for food?" Cecil asked a while later.  
"Sure," Earl said, "There's a place up ahead!" He drove on for a while longer, until he reached a set of stores, and pulled up outside of them.  
"Thanks Earl," Cecil cried, already getting out of the car. Carlos laughed and followed him out. Together, the four of them wandered into the store.  
"Don't eat that much sugar this time," Carlos warned Nilanjana.  
"Yes, okay, I've learnt my lesson," she sighed.  
*************  
Eventually, they reached Carlos and Nilanjana's apartment. Earl and Cecil climbed out of the car to help them with their bags and suitcases.  
"So, we'll see you soon," Cecil smiled, giving Carlos a hug and a kiss.  
"Yeah see you soon," Carlos echoed him, "I love you," he murmured, and then he instantly tensed up.  
"What did you say?" Cecil asked, stepping back slightly but still keeping his arms around Carlos.  
"Nothing," Carlos sighed, hanging his head, "Just forget I said anything,"  
"Too late for that," Cecil said, and then he smiled softly, and dropped his forehead against Carlos's. "I think... I... I love you too," He said, and watched with a fond smile as Carlos's eyes lit up.   
"Really?" Carlos asked softly.  
"Yes, I really do," Cecil said, only realising it as he actually said it. Carlos pulled him in tightly, and gave him a kiss.  
"Wow, looks like these two are getting serious," Earl whispered to Nilanjana with a smile, and for once she was very quiet and simply nodded, a small grin on her face.


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter!! Woah, I really hope you guys have enjoyed reading this! More about that at the end, but for now, enjoy!! I've been super excited to write this last chapter, so I hope it's good!

One Year Later

Cecil stopped the car, and gently leaned over to take away the scarf that he had tied over Carlos's eyes.  
"Where are we?" Carlos said, peering out of the window. Cecil laughed fondly as he watched Carlos slowly realise where we are. "The beach?" he said with a smile, looking out at the little beach where they'd been on one of their first dates.  
"Come on," Cecil smiled, getting out of the car and coming round to Carlos's door to help him out.  
"What's going on? Why are we here?" Carlos asked curiously.  
"I just wanted to take you somewhere nice as a surprise!" Cecil said, grabbing his hand and leading him down the path.   
"That's so nice of you!" Carlos told him, kissing him softly on the cheek. Cecil grinned softly to himself, but said nothing.

When they reached the sand, Cecil pulled out an old picnic blanket and laid it out on the sand.   
"Come on, sit down," Cecil said, sitting down and tugging Carlos down beside him. Quickly, he checked his phone.

JaniceX: have you done it yet???  
CecilGPalmer: no, give me some time  
JaniceX: sorry I'm just excited. Mom would like me to wish you good luck from her and Steve as well  
CecilGPalmer: well thank you, now please let me go back to my date  
JaniceX: yeah sure!!!

"Sorry, it's my family," Cecil said with a sigh, pushing his phone away into his pocket.  
"That's no problem," Carlos smiled, "What do they want?"  
"Oh, nothing in particular," Cecil said, "Nothing to worry about right now,"  
"Oh yeah, what should we be worried about?" Carlos said with a laugh.  
"Huh, that's a good question," Cecil said with a shrug, at the same time pushing his hand into his coat's pocket. "Hey, is that a bird's nest?" he asked, saying the first thing that came to mind and pointing to the cliffs behind them. Instantly, Carlos spun around to look and Cecil gently moved a small distance away.

When Carlos spun back around, Cecil was on one knee, and he was holding out a ring in a box, with a dorky grin spreading across his face.  
"There's no bird nest," he said with a laugh, "I just wanted to know, will you marry me?"  
"What?" Carlos said, letting out a small gasp.  
"I know we've only been together just over a year but we've already moved in together, and I've never loved anyone more than love you!" Cecil told him.  
"Yes, of course I'll marry you silly!" Carlos said, and Cecil let out a small sob.  
"Really?"  
"Yes, yes!" Carlos cried. Cecil immediately grabbed his hand and slid the ring onto it with a smile, before struggling to his feet and pulling Carlos into a hug. "Is this why you brought me back here?"  
"Yeah, of course," Cecil laughed, pulling him in and kissing him. "This place reminds of the start of everything between us, and I know now that I want to spend the rest of my life with you!"  
"The life we've already together has been great," Carlos told him, "I can't wait so see what the rest of it will look like!"

_ **Youtube Pals** _   
**CecilGPalmer: We're engaged!**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: We're engaged!**   
**NilanjanaS: Yay I'm so happy for you nerds!!!!!!!!**   
**EarlBakes: finally, you guys are gonna be so cute together!!!!!**   
**NilanjanaS: it's going to be such a great wedding!**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: how are you guys anyway?? Haven't seen you guys in about a week**   
**EarlBakes: We're great! I've taught Nils how to keep the apartment tidy now!!**   
**NilanjanaS: yeah, living together is going great. Earl makes awesome food!!**   
**EarlBakes: I am a professional chef!**   
**NilanjanaS: You guys should get back to enjoying your evening! We'll meet up tomorrow, yeah???**   
**Carlos_the_Scientist: yeah!!!!!!!!!**   
**CecilGPalmer: Sure, see you guys tomorrow**   
**EarlBakes: by the way, congratulations**

 

"I cant believe we're getting married," Cecil mumbled as they sat on the shore later that evening, the waves lapping at their toes.

"Neither can I," Carlos laughed, "This is a beautiful ring, by the way," he added, holding out his hand and inspecting the gold band, with a small green stone set in it. 

"Emeralds, your favourite," Cecil told him. Carlos smiled, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm going to have to get you a really nice ring as well," Carlos told him.

"You don't have to do that," Cecil protested.

"I do," Carlos smiled, "Because I love you,"

"I love you too," Cecil beamed, grabbing his hand and squeezing it slightly.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this has been a long journey! Writing this has taken a while and this has ended up being a lot longer than I ever expected or planned. Thank you to everyone who's read this far, it's amazing that people have enjoyed this, as it only started out as some stupid, fluffy fic for me to write between writing chapters of more serious fics. This was honestly just a n excuse for me to go completely away from canon and just have a bit of fun, so yeah, thanks for reading!!


End file.
